Who painted Voyez, Mr. Mayeux, cet animal...?

Voyez, Mr. Mayeux, cet animal... was painted by Honoré Daumier in 1836.

Where can I see Voyez, Mr. Mayeux, cet animal...?

Voyez, Mr. Mayeux, cet animal... is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Voyez, Mr. Mayeux, cet animal...?

Voyez, Mr. Mayeux, cet animal... is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

Voyez, Mr. Mayeux, cet animal...

Honoré Daumier , 1836

Voyez, Mr. Mayeux, cet animal... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1836 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Honoré Daumier’s 1836 hand‑colored lithograph titled *Voyez, Mr. Mayeux, cet animal…* belongs to his series of caricatures that mock the fictional, uncouth bourgeois figure Mr. Mayeux. Produced for the republican newspaper *La Caricature*, the print uses exaggerated gestures and a juxtaposition of a human and a monkey to satirize pretentious social attitudes of the July Monarchy era.

Subject & Meaning

The scene depicts three characters in a sparsely furnished room: a well‑dressed gentleman gesturing as if explaining, a small monkey wearing an oversized top hat, and an older man observing the animal with a solemn expression. By placing the monkey in the same attire as the human, Daumier ridicules the affectations of the bourgeois class, suggesting that their manners are as artificial as a dressed animal.

Technique & Style

Executed as a hand‑colored lithograph, the work combines the crisp lines of the lithographic process with delicate watercolor touches that highlight the figures’ costumes and facial expressions. Daumier’s characteristic use of bold contouring and subtle shading creates a quiet interior while the exaggerated hat on the monkey provides the visual punch of his satirical style.

History & Provenance

The print first appeared in 1836 within *La Caricature*, a daily that served as a platform for republican criticism of the July Monarchy’s monarchy, aristocracy, and clergy. Daumier, already known for his political cartoons, employed the recurring Mr. Mayeux character to embody the vulgarity of the rising middle class, reinforcing the newspaper’s editorial stance.

Context

Daumier’s caricatures, including this lithograph, contributed to a broader 19th‑century tradition of visual satire that challenged authority through humor. The image’s blend of social commentary and technical finesse influenced later cartoonists and reinforced the role of print media as a vehicle for political dissent during a period of intense French social change.

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.