Artwork
Singing Guitarist (recto)
Singing Guitarist (recto) is a drawing by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1858 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
This was Paris in the 1800s, full of singers on corners and at fairs.
Daumier shows a street singer with a guitar. The drawing is just lines—no color, no background. But those quick, nervous strokes make him feel alive. You can almost hear his song.
This was Paris in the 1800s, full of singers on corners and at fairs. Daumier loved those scenes. His style is rough but full of feeling.
See how the lines jump? That’s his trick. Look up Honoré Daumier (French, 1808–1879).
Overview
This drawing by Honoré Daumier depicts a street singer playing a guitar. Executed in pen and ink, the work features a figure rendered in a dynamic network of lines.
Subject & Meaning
The subject is a musician, likely a street performer, captured in the act of singing and playing a six-string guitar, an instrument popularized in Paris by the late 19th century.
Technique & Style
Daumier's technique involves rapid, agitated strokes that convey a sense of energy and emotion, bringing the figure to life through the expressive use of line.
Context
The drawing reflects Daumier's interest in the popular culture of 19th-century Paris, where street singers and carnival performers were common.
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.
