Artwork
No doubt, she is very ill!...
No doubt, she is very ill!... is a print by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1851 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Published on 13 November 1851 in the satirical newspaper Le Charivari, this print appears as plate 248 in the "News of the Day" series.
About this work
Overview
Published on 13 November 1851 in the satirical newspaper Le Charivari, this print appears as plate 248 in the "News of the Day" series. It presents a domestic scene in which a woman seated in a chair clutches her chest while a physician, stethoscope in hand, listens to her breathing.
Subject & Meaning
The caption, "No doubt, she is very ill!", is deliberately ironic; the woman's expression and posture suggest anxiety rather than overt sickness, allowing the image to comment on the melodrama of everyday concerns in mid‑nineteenth‑century France.
Technique & Style
Rendered in a rapid, sketch‑like manner, the print reflects the immediacy required for newspaper illustration. Loose lines and minimal shading convey movement and emotion without the polish of a finished painting, characteristic of the artist's press work.
History & Provenance
Created by Honoré Daumier for Le Charivari, the image formed part of a broader series that lampooned daily life under the regime of Louis‑Napoléon. It later entered the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection, where it is displayed alongside other Daumier prints.
Context
During the early 1850s, Daumier regularly contributed to Le Charivari, using caricature to critique social and political realities of the Second Republic and the emerging Second Empire. This print exemplifies his engagement with contemporary news and public sentiment.
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.
