Artwork
Lucien Murat et Antony Thouron ...
Lucien Murat et Antony Thouron ... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1849 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumier’s lithograph titled “Lucien Murat et Antony Thouron” presents a pair of comic vignettes that lampoon social conventions.
Honoré Daumier’s lithograph titled “Lucien Murat et Antony Thouron” presents a pair of comic vignettes that lampoon social conventions. The work consists of two adjacent images: on the left, two men engage in a lively, exaggerated conversation; on the right, a speaker at a podium places a top hat on a seated figure amid a densely packed audience. Both scenes rely on caricature to highlight the absurdity of formal gatherings.
Subject & Meaning
The lithograph satirizes the pretensions of public ceremonies and the performative nature of etiquette. By exaggerating gestures and positioning a hat‑placing ritual in a crowded setting, Daumier underscores how rituals can become farcical spectacles, reducing participants to caricatured roles that mock the seriousness of such events.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithography, a printmaking method that uses a stone surface to transfer ink, the work displays Daumier’s characteristic bold, thick lines. These heavy contours simplify forms and amplify the grotesque expressions, reinforcing the humorous tone while allowing rapid production of sharp, high‑contrast images.
History & Provenance
Created during Daumier’s prolific period of social commentary, the print was likely produced for a popular audience familiar with his satirical prints. Its title references two contemporary figures, Lucien Murat and Antony Thouron, suggesting a specific anecdotal or public incident that would have been recognizable to viewers of the time.
Context
Daumier’s oeuvre frequently targeted the bourgeoisie and public institutions, using caricature to critique the excesses of 19th‑century French society. This lithograph fits within that tradition, employing the accessible medium of print to disseminate his observations widely, aligning with the era’s burgeoning mass‑media culture.
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.
