Artwork
Antoine Odier
Antoine Odier is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1833 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Antoine Odier is an 1833 lithographic print by French artist Honoré Daumier. Executed during the July Monarchy, the image presents a solitary figure in a long coat, holding a hat and a cane while carrying a rolled sheet of paper marked with the words “Amour” and “Libre‑mur.” The caption beneath reads “M. Odieux,” a play on the French term for “odious.”
Subject & Meaning
The central character is rendered as a caricature of a public figure, his facial features deliberately obscured to emphasize a satirical stance rather than a precise likeness. By labeling the figure “M. Odieux,” Daumier signals a critique of a person perceived as disagreeable or corrupt, aligning the work with his broader republican commentary on the elite of his time.
Technique & Style
Daumier employed the lithographic process, drawing directly onto a limestone plate with greasy ink before printing. The line work is bold yet fluid, capturing movement through the raised foot and the casual grip on the paper. The blurred visage and exaggerated posture are hallmarks of Daumier’s satirical visual language, which blends realism with caricature to convey social criticism.
History & Provenance
Created for the politically charged periodicals La Caricature and Le Charivari, the print circulated among readers attuned to republican sentiment. While the original stone plate no longer survives, impressions have entered museum collections and private holdings, documenting Daumier’s prolific output of anti‑monarchical imagery during the early 1830s.
Artist & collection
Artist
Honoré-Victorin Daumier was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870.
