Who painted Quand en société vous voudrez bien recevoir un... coup...?

Quand en société vous voudrez bien recevoir un... coup... was painted by Honoré Daumier in 1847.

Where can I see Quand en société vous voudrez bien recevoir un... coup...?

Quand en société vous voudrez bien recevoir un... coup... is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Quand en société vous voudrez bien recevoir un... coup...?

Quand en société vous voudrez bien recevoir un... coup... is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

Quand en société vous voudrez bien recevoir un... coup...

Honoré Daumier , 1847

Quand en société vous voudrez bien recevoir un... coup... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1847 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Honoré-Victorin Daumier produced this 1847 lithograph on newsprint, a satirical print that captures a brief, chaotic encounter among three figures. The composition centers on a shirtless man being struck, while a top‑hat‑clad onlooker watches with a grin, surrounded by minimal props such as a helmet and a crumpled sheet of paper.

Subject & Meaning

The scene lampoons the bourgeois class, as indicated by the heading "Les Bons Bourgeois" and the accompanying caption that twists the notion of receiving a physical blow into a metaphor for social criticism. By depicting a violent act in a humorous context, Daumier comments on the pretensions and vulnerabilities of the affluent middle class of his time.

Technique & Style

Executed as a lithograph on inexpensive newsprint, the work features rapid, sketch‑like lines and a loose handling of form, suggesting a hurried execution. The rough drawing style emphasizes immediacy and exaggeration, hallmarks of Daumier’s caricatural approach, while the limited tonal range of the medium reinforces the stark, confrontational mood.

History & Provenance

Created during Daumier’s prolific period of contributing to the satirical journals La Caricature and Le Charivari, the print reflects his ongoing engagement with French political and social issues. It was circulated as part of the regular output of these publications, reaching a broad readership in mid‑nineteenth‑century Paris.

Context

The lithograph belongs to a larger body of work in which Daumier used humor and visual satire to critique the monarchy, aristocracy, and clergy from a republican perspective. Its focus on bourgeois excess aligns with the broader tensions of 1840s France, a time marked by class conflict and the rise of democratic ideas.

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.