Who painted Électeurs, dans mes bras!...?

Électeurs, dans mes bras!... was painted by Honoré Daumier in 1869.

Where can I see Électeurs, dans mes bras!...?

Électeurs, dans mes bras!... is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Électeurs, dans mes bras!...?

Électeurs, dans mes bras!... is associated with Impressionism.

Artwork

Électeurs, dans mes bras!...

Honoré Daumier , 1869

Électeurs, dans mes bras!... is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1869 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1869, this lithographic print by Honoré Daumier presents a satirical tableau in which a figure balances atop a weary horse while clutching an oversized volume titled *Le Dix Neuf Janvier, Mémoire Justificatif*. Rendered in stark black‑and‑white with brisk, sketchy lines, the composition conveys a sense of immediacy and absurdity.

Subject & Meaning

The central figure, poised on the animal’s back, appears to champion a political pamphlet that purports to justify a significant event, suggested by the date in the title. Daumier’s choice of a tired horse and exaggerated book underscores the critique of bureaucratic self‑importance and the burdens placed on the populace during a turbulent era of French politics.

Technique & Style

Executed as a lithograph, the work relies on the artist’s direct drawing on a limestone plate, later transferred to paper through oil‑based inks. Daumier’s characteristic rapid, bold strokes and loose rendering amplify the caricatural tone, while the monochrome palette emphasizes contrast between the figure’s assertiveness and the animal’s fatigue.

Context

The print emerges from Daumier’s long engagement with French republicanism, a period marked by the Revolution of 1830, the upheavals of 1848, and the eventual collapse of the Second Empire in 1870. Working for satirical journals such as *La Caricature* and *Le Charivari*, he routinely targeted the monarchy, aristocracy, and clergy, using humor to comment on the nation’s shifting power structures.

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.