Artwork
Ce pauvre Louis XIV n'en croyant pas ses yeux
Ce pauvre Louis XIV n'en croyant pas ses yeux is a print by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1871 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumier’s 1871 gillotage on newsprint, titled *Ce pauvre Louis XIV n’en croyant pas ses yeux*, is a satirical print that captures the artist’s ongoing engagement with political caricature. Executed shortly after the collapse of the Second French Empire, the work employs a stark, hurried line to comment on contemporary power dynamics, continuing Daumier’s long‑standing critique of French authority.
Subject & Meaning
The image depicts a skeletal figure emerging from the ground, its outstretched arms reaching toward a shocked assembly labeled “République Française Assemblée Nationale.” The startled figures, one with raised hands, suggest a collective disbelief or alarm, while the title invokes the memory of Louis XIV, framing the scene as a humorous yet pointed reflection on the legacy of monarchical power.
Technique & Style
Created with the gillotage process on newsprint, the print utilizes a rapid, economical method suited to newspaper illustration. Daumier’s use of rough, dark lines on a light paper surface produces a scratchy, urgent visual quality, emphasizing the immediacy of the political commentary and the informal, sketch‑like character of the work.
Context
The print belongs to the turbulent period following France’s defeat in the Franco‑Prussian War and the fall of the Second Empire in 1870. In this climate of political upheaval, Daumier continued to publish in satirical journals such as *La Caricature* and *Le Charivari*, using caricature to scrutinize the new republican institutions and lingering monarchical symbols.
Legacy
While the specific joke about Louis XIV may appear obscure today, the work exemplifies Daumier’s broader contribution to visual satire and the development of political cartooning in the 19th century. It illustrates how print media served as a vehicle for rapid, critical commentary on authority, influencing subsequent generations of cartoonists and illustrators.
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.
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