Artwork
Reviens y donc encore ... grand enjeoleu! ...
Reviens y donc encore ... grand enjeoleu! ... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1845 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumier’s lithograph titled “Reviens y donc encore … grand enjeoleu! …” presents a brief outdoor tableau in which a man and a woman stand opposite each other with a dog positioned between them. The composition captures a moment of awkward interaction, the woman holding back the animal while the man appears uneasy, suggesting a subtle narrative conveyed without dialogue.
Subject & Meaning
The work explores interpersonal tension through the mediation of a pet. The woman’s effort to restrain the dog contrasts with the man’s discomfort, hinting at unspoken conflict or social restraint. By using the animal as a visual barrier, Daumier comments on how people may employ external objects to avoid direct confrontation, revealing underlying emotions in a domestic setting.
Technique & Style
The artist employs a limited palette of blacks and grays, allowing the figures and the dog to emerge from a loosely suggested background.
Executed in lithography, the print demonstrates Daumier’s skill in rendering fine line work and tonal variation characteristic of mid‑19th‑century French printmaking. The artist employs a limited palette of blacks and grays, allowing the figures and the dog to emerge from a loosely suggested background. The crisp delineation of the dog’s form against the softer rendering of the figures creates a visual hierarchy that focuses attention on the interpersonal drama.
Context
Created during Daumier’s prolific period of social observation, the image reflects his interest in everyday scenes that reveal broader human behaviors. While primarily known for satirical caricatures, this lithograph aligns with his broader oeuvre that documents ordinary moments, using humor and nuance to critique social mores in contemporary French life.
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.
