Artwork
Qu'on dise encore que la chasse...
Qu'on dise encore que la chasse... is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1864 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created in 1864, *Qu’on dise encore que la chasse.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1864, *Qu’on dise encore que la chasse...* is a lithographic print by French artist Honoré Daumier. The work belongs to his extensive series of satirical images that comment on the social and political climate of mid‑nineteenth‑century France, employing humor and exaggeration to convey criticism.
Subject & Meaning
The scene depicts a man collapsed on the ground, entangled with three dogs—one biting his arm, another gnawing his leg, while a third watches. The figure’s contorted face and disheveled clothing convey distress, serving as a visual metaphor for the chaotic consequences of the era’s power struggles and the artist’s republican sympathies.
Technique & Style
Daumery employed the lithographic process, drawing directly onto a stone with fluid, sketch‑like lines that capture motion and immediacy. This brisk, gestural approach, typical of 19th‑century French printmaking, enhances the comic exaggeration and reinforces the work’s satirical tone.
History & Provenance
The print was produced for the satirical journals *La Caricature* and *Le Charivari*, venues through which Daumier regularly disseminated his critiques of the monarchy, aristocracy, and clergy. It circulated widely among the republican‑leaning readership of the period, reflecting the artist’s active engagement with contemporary political discourse.
Context
Issued during a period of considerable upheaval in France—following the 1848 Revolution and amid the Second Empire—the image aligns with Daumier’s broader oeuvre that lampooned authority figures. Its allegorical content resonates with the broader tradition of French caricature that used humor to challenge established power structures.
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.
