Artwork
La bourse ou le knout!
La bourse ou le knout! is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1854 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumée’s lithograph *La bourse ou le knout!* presents a cramped Parisian street where three men occupy the foreground. The central figure recoils, his face twisted in alarm, while a second figure clutches a handful of coins and a third brandishes a whip. The composition captures a moment of confrontation, using exaggerated gestures to heighten the sense of tension.
Subject & Meaning
Through this stark tableau Daumée delivers a pointed commentary on the exploitation inherent in contemporary social structures.
The work satirizes the relationship between wealth, authority and the vulnerable citizen. The man with the coins represents avarice or financial power; the whip‑wielding figure embodies coercive force, and the flinching individual stands for those who are intimidated by both. Through this stark tableau Daumée delivers a pointed commentary on the exploitation inherent in contemporary social structures.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithography, the print relies on bold, thick lines and stark contrasts that give the figures a cartoonish yet forceful presence. Daumée’s characteristic caricatural exaggeration—oversized heads, angular postures—enhances the narrative, while the crisp rendering of the urban backdrop anchors the scene in a recognizable Parisian setting.
History & Provenance
Created during Daumée’s prolific period of social satire in the mid‑19th century, the lithograph was produced for the mass‑market print circles that circulated his critiques. Original impressions were distributed through the artist’s own workshop and later entered several European collections, reflecting the work’s role in the broader dissemination of political caricature.
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.
