Who painted Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune?

Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune was painted by Honoré Daumier in 1850.

Where can I see Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune?

Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune?

Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune is associated with Impressionism.

Can I buy a print of Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune?

Museum-quality prints of Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune

Honoré Daumier , 1850

Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte a la tribune is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Honoré Daumier’s 1850 lithograph *Quand un orateur ennuyeux monte à la tribune* presents a comic tableau of a public speaking event. The print is divided into two registers: an upper scene where a grotesquely rendered speaker appears poised to shout, and a lower scene showing a bored spectator, a woman at a table, while the speaker continues his exaggerated gestures.

Subject & Meaning

The work satirizes the fatigue of political oratory, portraying the speaker as a caricature of pomp and empty rhetoric. By emphasizing the audience’s disengagement, Daumier critiques the superficiality of public discourse and the tendency of officials to dominate conversation without substantive content.

Technique & Style

Executed in lithography, the image relies on swift, sketch‑like lines that exaggerate facial features and posture. Daumier’s use of bold contour and minimal shading heightens the comic effect, while the contrast between the two registers underscores the disconnect between speaker and listeners.

History & Provenance

Created during Daumier’s prolific period of political satire, the print was likely intended for the satirical journals *La Caricature* and *Le Charivari*, where he regularly contributed. The work reflects his republican sympathies and his habit of employing caricature to comment on contemporary institutions.

Context

The lithograph emerges from mid‑19th‑century France, a time of frequent public debates and assemblies. Daumier’s focus on a dull orator mirrors broader societal frustrations with political rhetoric and the growing influence of mass media in shaping public opinion.

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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.