Artwork
La plainte en adultère
La plainte en adultère 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
La plainte en adultère is a lithograph by Honoré Daumier, depicting a 19th-century courtroom scene.
Subject & Meaning
The print shows a man standing at a desk, conversing with three judges in formal attire, conveying the gravity of a judicial proceeding. Daumier's work often critiqued the legal system, highlighting its inner workings and biases.
Technique & Style
As a lithograph, the work exemplifies the technique's capacity for mass production, allowing Daumier's commentary to reach a wider audience. The medium enabled detailed renderings of the courtroom scene, capturing the formal atmosphere and character of the figures.
Context
Created during a period when French courts were frequently in the news, Daumier's work reflects the contemporary interest in the judicial system and its operations.
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.
Voyons témoin il serait important de...
La Cour, vidant le délibéré...
Mr. l'avocat a rendu pleine justice...
Mr. le Juge de paix a rendu sa décision...
Un Avocat qui est... rempli de la conviction... intime...
Une soirées musicale
Au fait, maitre Barbotteau...
A la mairie ...
Mr. le Juge de paix a rendu sa décision...