Artwork
Madame Coquardeau still has a pretty figure after all!...
Madame Coquardeau still has a pretty figure after all!... is a print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1847 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
You see a woman, Madame Coquardeau, in a bathing scene.
She's standing in a simple room, with a few other women nearby.
The interesting thing about this work is that it was published in a series called "At the Ladies Bath" in a magazine, which suggests it was meant to be humorous or satirical.
You can learn more about this style by looking at the work of artist: Honoré Daumier (French, 1808–1879)
Overview
The engraving, titled with the name Madame Coquardeau, appeared as plate 15 in the September 14, 1847 issue of the French satirical weekly Le Charivari. It forms part of the publication’s recurring series "At the Ladies Bath," a collection of humorous illustrations that depicted everyday domestic scenes with a light‑hearted, often teasing tone.
Subject & Meaning
The image presents Madame Coquardeau standing in a modestly furnished bathing chamber, surrounded by a few other women engaged in similar activities. The composition captures a moment of private routine rendered for public amusement, inviting viewers to recognize the ordinary while subtly commenting on contemporary notions of femininity and propriety.
Technique & Style
Executed in line engraving, the work relies on fine hatching and cross‑hatching to model forms and suggest the texture of skin, cloth, and interior surfaces. The style aligns with mid‑nineteenth‑century French caricature, emphasizing exaggerated gestures and simplified backgrounds to foreground the figures and their comic interaction.
History & Provenance
First circulated through Le Charivari, the print was distributed widely among the periodical’s readership, a demographic accustomed to political and social satire. No record indicates a later sale or museum acquisition, suggesting the piece remains primarily known through its original magazine appearance and subsequent reproductions in studies of French graphic humor.
Context
The illustration belongs to a broader tradition of satirical prints that flourished in the July Monarchy, where artists such as Honoré Daumier employed everyday scenes to critique social mores. By focusing on a women’s bathing routine, the work participates in a genre that blended domestic realism with playful subversion, reflecting the era’s appetite for visual wit.
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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