Artwork
La famille de l'électeur

La famille de l'électeur is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1843 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
La famille de l'électeur, a lithograph by Honoré Daumier, portrays a domestic scene of four family members gathered in a doorway, frozen in a moment of everyday interaction.
Subject & Meaning
The composition subtly conveys social hierarchies and roles of the time through attire: the older man's top hat signifies his status, the woman's traditional dress reflects her domestic role, and the child's presence underscores family dynamics.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithography, the work leverages the medium's expressive capabilities, characteristic of Daumier's practice, to render the scene with nuanced textures and tonal depth.
History & Provenance
Limited historical context is provided about the work's creation or ownership history, highlighting a need for further research into its provenance and original exhibition or publication circumstances.
Context
Created during a period of social change, the piece offers a glimpse into the private lives of a mid-19th-century family, contrasting with Daumier's more overtly political works, by focusing on intimate, universal themes.
Legacy
As part of Daumier's lithographic oeuvre, 'La famille de l'électeur' contributes to the artist's legacy of capturing the human experience, influencing subsequent generations of artists in depicting everyday life.
Own this work as a print
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.

















