1857
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Ah! Ma pauv' Madame Chaffarou ... is a 1857 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
Two cloaked figures stand under a wild night sky. One points up while the other clutches their coat tight. A fiery cone of light shoots down from above, like a warning. Daumier made this in 1857 as a lithograph. He loved mocking human fears, especially silly ones. This time he mocked panic over comets and space—back then people thought comets meant doom. See how the comet looks like a dragon’s head? It’s meant to scare the viewer too. Check out more of Daumier, Honoré.
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.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
