Who painted Ménage modèle...?

Ménage modèle... was painted by Honoré Daumier in 1846.

Where can I see Ménage modèle...?

Ménage modèle... is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Ménage modèle...?

Ménage modèle... is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

Ménage modèle...

Honoré Daumier , 1846

Ménage modèle... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1846 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1846, this lithograph by Honoré Daumier appears on newsprint and presents a domestic interior populated by two women, one holding an infant, surrounded by potted plants. The scene is titled *Les bons bourgeois* and includes a caption that humorously references a model home maintained for three decades, suggesting a blend of moral virtue and horticultural growth.

Subject & Meaning

The image depicts a modest, sunlit room where two middle‑class women engage in everyday activity, the older figure smiling as she leans toward the younger mother and child. The accompanying text satirically praises the household as an exemplar of bourgeois propriety, using the notion of a "model home" to comment on the self‑congratulatory attitudes of the rising middle class.

Technique & Style

Daumier employed the lithographic process on inexpensive newsprint, allowing for rapid, gestural lines that capture facial expressions and clothing with minimal detail. The sketch‑like quality emphasizes warmth and immediacy rather than precise rendering, a hallmark of his satirical prints that rely on caricature and visual shorthand to convey social critique.

Context

At the time of its production Daumier was a prominent contributor to satirical journals such as *La Caricature* and *Le Charivari*. His work frequently targeted the monarchy, aristocracy, and clergy, reflecting his republican sympathies during the turbulent decades between the 1830 Revolution and the collapse of the Second Empire.

Legacy

Although originally a modest newspaper illustration, the lithograph exemplifies Daumier’s ability to merge humor with social observation. It remains a valuable document of mid‑nineteenth‑century French bourgeois life and illustrates the artist’s enduring influence on political cartooning and the visual language of satire.

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.