Artwork
Un homme dans ses petits souliers
Un homme dans ses petits souliers is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1849 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumée r’s 1849 lithograph *Un homme dans ses petits souliers* presents a brief encounter between two formally dressed figures set against a loosely rendered urban backdrop. The composition is confined to a narrow vertical format, emphasizing the direct opposition of the two men and the subtle humor embedded in the title’s reference to “small shoes.”
Subject & Meaning
The work juxtaposes a rigid, upright gentleman with a slouched counterpart whose hands rest in his pockets. The contrast in posture and bearing suggests a commentary on social hierarchy and pretension, highlighting how outward confidence can mask underlying fatigue or inferiority. The title’s wordplay reinforces the satire, hinting that the proud figure’s stature is metaphorically diminished.
Technique & Style
Executed as a lithograph, Daumier drew directly onto a limestone slab with greasy ink, allowing for swift reproduction. The medium’s capacity for bold lines and delicate shading is evident in the stark outlines of the suits and the sketchy suggestion of buildings behind them. This approach enables a rapid, widely distributable image while retaining the artist’s characteristic caricatural vigor.
History & Provenance
Created in the revolutionary atmosphere of mid‑nineteenth‑century France, the print was intended for broad circulation among the emerging mass market for affordable art. Its modest size and reproducibility made it accessible to a public eager for visual commentary on contemporary manners and fashions. Copies have appeared in various collections documenting the era’s social satire.
Context
Daumier’s oeuvre frequently explored everyday Parisian life, often targeting the bourgeois pretensions of his time. This lithograph aligns with his broader interest in exposing the gap between public display and private reality, using humor and exaggerated gestures to critique the social performance inherent in fashionable attire.
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.
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