Artwork
En Famille
En Famille is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1847 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumier’s lithograph *En Famille*, produced in 1847, presents a domestic scene that satirizes the conditions of the French middle class in the early nineteenth century. Rendered in a single printed sheet, the image captures a weary family confined to a modest, sparsely furnished room, reflecting the artist’s ongoing concern with the social realities of post‑revolutionary France.
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows a father slumped in a chair, a mother cradling an infant, and both figures dressed in worn garments against bare walls. Daumier’s portrayal emphasizes fatigue and confinement, using the family’s strained posture to critique the hardships and limited prospects faced by ordinary households during a period of political and economic instability.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithography, the work relies on crisp, decisive lines that delineate the figures and their surroundings with stark clarity. Daumier’s handling of facial expressions combines caricature with a degree of realism, allowing the sorrowful looks to convey genuine emotion while maintaining the satirical edge characteristic of his printmaking.
History & Provenance
*En Famille* was created for the popular satirical press of the era, where Daumier regularly contributed to titles such as *La Caricature* and *Le Charivari*. The print circulated among the readership of these publications, reinforcing Daumier’s reputation as a visual commentator on the social and political tensions of his time.
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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