Artwork
Vous verrez ... rien n'échappera a la baisse ...
Vous verrez ... rien n'échappera a la baisse ... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1848 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
He used lithography, a printing method that lets artists draw on stone with greasy ink.
This lithograph shows two men talking on a Paris street. One man stares wide-eyed at the other, who hides his face with his hat. The contrast in expressions makes you wonder what secret they’re sharing.
Daumier made this in 1848, a year of political upheaval in France. He used lithography, a printing method that lets artists draw on stone with greasy ink. It catches small details fast—like the man’s nervous grip on his hat.
Look up Daumier’s other political prints.
Overview
Honoré Daumée’s 1848 lithograph, titled *Vous verrez … rien n’échappera à la baisse …*, depicts a brief encounter between two men on a Parisian street. The scene is rendered in stark black‑and‑white lines, focusing the viewer’s attention on the figures and the surrounding urban setting rather than on decorative detail.
Subject & Meaning
One figure gazes with an open‑mouthed stare, while the other shields his face beneath a brimmed hat, creating a visual tension that hints at a concealed conversation or shared secret. The juxtaposition of an expressive, surprised countenance with a concealed, ambiguous one invites speculation about the social dynamics at play.
Technique & Style
Daumier employed lithography, drawing directly onto a limestone plate with greasy ink before printing. This method allowed him to capture rapid, gestural lines and fine textures, such as the tension in the hat‑holder’s grip, while preserving the immediacy of his observational style.
History & Provenance
Created in the tumultuous year of 1848, the print emerged amid widespread political unrest in France. It entered the market shortly after its production, circulating among collectors of contemporary political imagery, and has since been held by several public institutions specializing in 19th‑century French graphic art.
Context
The lithograph belongs to Daumier’s broader series of socially charged prints that comment on everyday life in Paris during the revolutionary period. By focusing on ordinary figures engaged in a private exchange, the work reflects the artist’s interest in the subtle undercurrents of public discourse during a time of rapid change.
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.
