Artwork
Moyen d'aller chercher les barbillons dans leur propre domicile
Moyen d'aller chercher les barbillons dans leur propre domicile is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1848 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumier’s lithograph, titled *Moyen d’aller chercher les barbillons dans leur propre domicile*, presents a solitary figure in a tailcoat and top hat, perched in a modest boat. The man extends a long pole fitted with a woven basket, his posture suggesting swift, purposeful motion as he attempts to retrieve an unseen object from the water.
Subject & Meaning
The composition captures a moment of everyday urgency, the sitter’s focused expression and strained reach implying a hurried task. Daumier’s choice of a well‑dressed individual engaged in a mundane, almost absurd activity reflects his penchant for subtle social commentary, hinting at the pretensions of bourgeois life.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithographic ink, the image relies on fluid, sweeping lines and delicate shading to convey movement and depth. The light tonal contrasts and economical use of detail are typical of mid‑19th‑century French printmaking, while the exaggerated pose and slightly caricatured features underscore Daumier’s satirical visual language.
Context
Created during the period when Daumier was prolific in newspaper and magazine illustration, the work aligns with his broader oeuvre that critiqued contemporary society through humor. Lithography offered a rapid, reproducible medium, allowing such images to reach a wide readership and participate in the lively visual culture of the era.
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.
