Artwork
En voila un de jobard! ...
En voila un de jobard! ... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1840 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumier’s lithograph En voilà un de jobard! dates from 1840. The print presents a solitary figure moving briskly along a city street, his posture slightly hunched and a hand concealed within his coat. The title, roughly translating to “What a fool!” frames the scene as a satirical observation of contemporary manners.
Subject & Meaning
The central character is a well‑dressed man—tight‑buttoned coat, low‑set hat—caught mid‑stride, his face tilted upward as if laughing at something beyond the picture’s edge. Daumier’s choice of expression and pose suggests a critique of those who adhere rigidly to social conventions, inviting viewers to question the pretensions of urban respectability.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithography, the image relies on rapid, scratchy lines that render the background street in a loose, almost evaporated manner. In contrast, the figure’s coat and facial features are drawn with sharper, more decisive strokes, creating a visual hierarchy that draws the eye to the man’s animated demeanor.
History & Provenance
Printed in 1840, the work is part of Daumier’s early series of social caricatures that circulated in Parisian print markets. It entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, where it is displayed among other lithographs by the artist, illustrating his prolific engagement with urban satire.
Context
The lithograph emerges from a period of rapid urban growth in early‑mid‑19th‑century France, when public life and street scenes became fertile ground for commentary. Daumier, known for his keen observation of everyday people, used this medium to capture fleeting moments that reflected broader societal attitudes toward conformity and folly.
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.
