1856
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
A Bercy: Nous faisons ... ce que nous pouvons ... is a 1856 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This lithograph shows two workers in a dark cellar, one pouring from a jug, the other leaning on a barrel. The scene feels real because Daumier used quick, rough lines to capture movement and grit. You can almost hear the clink of bottles and smell the damp wood. Daumier often drew laborers and their tough lives. This print, made in 1856, shows his knack for turning small moments into sharp social observations. See how he layers ink to build shadows? That’s lithography—printing with greasy crayons on stone.
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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