Artwork
La carte a payer
La carte a payer is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1837 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Scattered objects—a half‑filled wine bottle, a few coins, and a plate of remnants—suggest his precarious financial state.
Created in 1837, *La carte à payer* is a hand‑colored lithographic print by Honoré Daumier. The image portrays a solitary man in a dark coat, seated at a modest table and studying a bill with evident anxiety. Scattered objects—a half‑filled wine bottle, a few coins, and a plate of remnants—suggest his precarious financial state. The work exemplifies Daumier’s focus on everyday figures caught in the pressures of contemporary life.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure embodies the strain of indebtedness that many faced under the July Monarchy, a period marked by widening economic disparities. By emphasizing the man's worried expression and the meager items before him, Daumier critiques the social pretensions and financial instability of the era, aligning the scene with his broader republican sympathies and his satirical examination of authority and class.
Technique & Style
Daumier employed the lithographic process, drawing directly onto a smooth stone surface before transferring the image onto paper. After the print was pulled, he applied color manually, a common practice that allowed for nuanced tonal variations. The composition combines sharp line work with modest, muted hues, reinforcing the stark realism and subtle humor characteristic of his satirical prints.
History & Provenance
The print originally appeared among Daumier’s contributions to the satirical journals *La Caricature* and *Le Charivari*, venues through which he regularly challenged the monarchy, aristocracy, and clergy. While specific exhibition records are scarce, the work has been catalogued in major collections of 19th‑century French prints, reflecting its role within Daumier’s extensive series that documented the social 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.
