Artwork
Dire pourtant que j'avais planté des pommes de terre ...
Dire pourtant que j'avais planté des pommes de terre ... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1845 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumier’s lithograph titled “Dire pourtant que j’avais planté des pommes de terre…” dates from 1845. Executed as a single‑sheet print, it depicts a brief episode in a countryside setting, rendered in stark black‑and‑white. The image is composed of a man, a boy, a donkey and a heap of round objects that suggest potatoes, all arranged within a compact, narrative space.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents a weary adult and a curious child beside a donkey, with a mound of potatoes nearby. The adult’s expression conveys irritation, while the child gazes at the animal, hinting at a moment of domestic tension or humor in rural labor. Daumier’s subtle irony invites viewers to consider the everyday hardships and small absurdities of peasant life.
Technique & Style
Created with a greasy crayon on lithographic stone, the print relies on crisp, decisive lines and strong contrasts of light and shadow. Daumier’s handling of line emphasizes facial fatigue and the texture of the donkey’s coat, while the dense shading gives depth to the piled potatoes. The overall effect is a bold, graphic representation typical of mid‑nineteenth‑century French lithography.
History & Provenance
The lithograph was produced in the early phase of Daumier’s career, before his fame as a caricaturist and painter. It was likely issued as part of a series of socially themed prints circulated among the Parisian public. Existing copies are held in several European museum collections, reflecting its continued relevance to studies of 19th‑century French print culture.
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.
