Who painted Une Rencontre agréable?

Une Rencontre agréable was painted by Honoré Daumier in 1844.

Where can I see Une Rencontre agréable?

Une Rencontre agréable is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Une Rencontre agréable?

Une Rencontre agréable is associated with Romanticism.

Can I buy a print of Une Rencontre agréable?

Museum-quality prints of Une Rencontre agréable are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Une Rencontre agréable

Honoré Daumier , 1844

Une Rencontre agréable is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1844 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1844, *Une Rencontre agréable* is a lithographic print on newsprint by the French artist Honoré Daumier. The work belongs to the prolific series of satirical images Daumier produced for publications such as *La Caricature* and *Le Charivari*, which circulated widely among the reading public of the mid‑nineteenth century.

Subject & Meaning

The composition depicts two elderly gentlemen seated side by side, each wearing an elaborate hat—a flat‑crowned model for one and a tall black top‑hat for the other. Their weary faces and the title, “A Pleasant Meeting,” create an ironic contrast, suggesting a commentary on the hollow civility of certain social encounters.

Technique & Style

Executed in lithography, the image relies on swift, sketch‑like lines that convey immediacy and spontaneity. The rough, unfinished quality of the drawing, combined with the plain background, emphasizes the caricatural intent and underscores Daumier’s habit of rendering figures with a blend of realism and exaggeration.

Context

Daumier’s print emerges from a period of intense political turbulence in France, spanning the July Revolution of 1830 to the collapse of the Second Empire in 1870. As a self‑identified republican and advocate of working‑class liberalism, he regularly employed satire to critique the monarchy, aristocracy, and ecclesiastical authority.

Legacy

*Une Rencontre agréable* exemplifies Daumier’s skill in using everyday scenes to expose social pretensions. The work continues to be studied as a representative example of nineteenth‑century French political caricature and of the lithographic medium’s capacity for rapid, mass‑produced commentary.

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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.