Who painted Le réfugié politique?

Le réfugié politique was painted by Honoré Daumier in 1842.

Where can I see Le réfugié politique?

Le réfugié politique is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Le réfugié politique?

Le réfugié politique is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

Le réfugié politique

Honoré Daumier , 1842

Le réfugié politique is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1842 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

A man leans on a cane in a dark room. His coat is old and rumpled. His face drops like he’s just walked a long way.

Daumier drew this in 1842. The picture is a lithograph—ink on stone, pressed onto paper. That way, prints could spread fast and cheap.

Look at his slumped shoulders. That’s what exile feels like.

See more like this by Daumier, Honoré.

Overview

Le réfugié politique is a lithograph created by Honoré Daumier in 1842, depicting a worn-out figure leaning on a cane.

Subject & Meaning

The work embodies the struggles of political exiles, conveying a sense of displacement and adversity through the figure's disheveled appearance and weary posture.

Technique & Style

The lithograph's intricate shadowing and dark tones emphasize the subject's vulnerability, achieved through Daumier's use of ink on stone transferred to paper, allowing for mass production.

History & Provenance

Created in 1842, Le réfugié politique reflects the artist's response to the political climate of the time, likely referencing the experiences of those fleeing oppressive regimes.

Artist & collection

Artist

Honoré Daumier

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.