Artwork
Sainte Rosette Tamisier ...
Sainte Rosette Tamisier ... is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1851 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Honoré Daumée’s 1851 lithograph presents a lively encounter between two characters.
About this work
The scowls and pointed fingers feel very real—like you’ve caught strangers mid-argument in a café.
Daumier’s 1851 lithograph shows two figures in a heated chat. One wears a cone hat covered in words, the other has wings and a face like a beast.
Daumier often poked fun at hypocrites, and here the hat looks like a sermon turned joke. The scowls and pointed fingers feel very real—like you’ve caught strangers mid-argument in a café.
Check out more Daumier, Honoré if you like this bold, funny style.
Overview
Honoré Daumée’s 1851 lithograph presents a lively encounter between two characters. One figure is dressed in a conical hat and a cloak that bears printed text, while the other is rendered with feathered wings and a grotesque, animal‑like visage. The composition captures a moment of heated exchange, rendered in Daumée’s characteristic brisk line work.
Subject & Meaning
The juxtaposition of a sermon‑styled hat and a beastly opponent suggests a satirical commentary on religious or social hypocrisy. By pairing a textual garment with a creature that appears both winged and bestial, Daumée underscores the tension between outward piety and underlying folly, inviting viewers to question the authenticity of public moralizing.
Technique & Style
Executed as a lithograph, the image relies on bold, gestural lines and stark contrasts to convey movement and emotion. Daumée’s economical use of shading emphasizes the figures’ expressions and gestures, while the printed words on the hat become a visual element that merges text and image, a hallmark of his incisive illustrative approach.
History & Provenance
Created in 1851, the print belongs to a period when Daumée was actively producing socially charged works for newspapers and pamphlets. Though specific ownership records are sparse, the lithograph has circulated among collections of 19th‑century French prints, reflecting its role as a vehicle for the artist’s contemporary critique.
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.
