With 226 illustrations, 40 in colour
In the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth, Honoré Daumier (1808-79) was regarded above all as a caricaturist. Much more than that, however, we can now recognize him as not only the greatest satirist of his day, but also one of the finest draughtsmen of any era. In his oeuvre, which comprises lithographs, watercolours, drawings, paintings and sculptures, the subject is always humanity, with its qualities, foibles and vices.
Roger Passeron, a Daumier specialist, portrays the man and also the chronicler of the social, political and artistic life of his time, drawing attenton particularly to his genius as an artist. Born in Marseilles, Daumier moved to the capital at an early age and regarded himself as a Parisian.
It was a time of great political upheaval in France, when momentous events were deciding the future of the whole of Europe; at the same time Daumier was captivated by the development of a revolutionary new technique in lithography, and he contributed cartoons to La Caricature and Le Charivari, ridiculing bourgeois society. His portrayal of Louis Philippe as Gargantua led to his imprisonment, but that did not deter him from returning to political satire. His interest ranged from the grand figures of the day to the middle classes and the humble working people. He attached equal importance to world-shaking events and everyday life such as street scenes, cafés Salon exhibitions and even the weather This superbly illustrated book, which provides a deep insight into the man and his work, contains well-known masterpieces and also a fine selection of lesser known works from private collections