Le roi des grecs ...

Executed in lithography, the image relies on crisp, decisive lines that delineate the figures’ costumes and gestures. Daumier’s characteristic use of stark contrast emphasizes the tension between the two characters, while the fluidity of the ink work conveys movement in the second figure’s pose, reinforcing the sense of a staged, almost caricatured display.

Created in 1854, the lithograph emerged during a period when Daumier frequently targeted political and military institutions in his prints. Though specific ownership records are sparse, the piece has been catalogued among Daumier’s satirical series and has circulated in public collections devoted to 19th‑century French graphic art.

The mid‑nineteenth century in France was marked by frequent changes in government and military reforms, providing fertile ground for Daumier’s critical eye. Le roi des grecs reflects contemporary anxieties about the legitimacy of power, employing the visual language of uniformity to comment on the broader social climate of instability and the spectacle of authority.