Artwork
Cet imbécile de Dubrancart ...
Cet imbécile de Dubrancart ... is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1864 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Their faces are exaggerated—one scowling, the other grinning—making fun of quick judgments.
Daumier’s lithograph shows a crowded café scene in 1864 Paris. A man in the center holds a coffee cup while another laughs beside him. Their faces are exaggerated—one scowling, the other grinning—making fun of quick judgments.
Daumier mocked common types like this one. He worked fast, drawing on stone to print cheap, sharp images for newspapers.
See it next at the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Overview
Cet imbécile de Dubrancart, a lithograph by Honoré Daumier from 1864, depicts a bustling café scene in mid-19th-century Paris, characterized by vivid social interaction among its patrons.
Subject & Meaning
The print focuses on two central figures: one scowling individual holding a coffee cup and another beside him, grinning in amusement. Daumier uses exaggerated facial expressions to satirically comment on the tendency to make hasty judgments about others, targeting the common man's propensity for quick, potentially misguided opinions.
Technique & Style
Daumier's satirical style is evident in the exaggerated facial features and body language of the characters. The lithograph, drawn directly on stone for mass production in newspapers, showcases his ability to produce sharp, detailed images rapidly.
History & Provenance
Created in 1864, this lithograph is part of Daumier's body of work critiquing everyday Parisian life. Currently, it is part of the collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
Context
This work reflects Daumier's practice of using lithography to create accessible, socially conscious art for a broad audience through newspaper publications, commenting on the social mores of his time.
Legacy
As one of Daumier's satirical lithographs, it contributes to his legacy as a keen observer of 19th-century French society, known for his humorous yet poignant critiques of everyday life and its inhabitants.
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.
Vous ne prenez rien?
Je n'ai jamais tant ri qu'a l'enterrement de la fille a Bourdin...
Un amateur difficile
Un comité écoutant la lecture d'une tragédie
Vois-tu Bertrand...
On flaire la marchandise... avant de la mécaniser!...
Are you not ordering anything?...
Hier dans la rue Saint-Honoré ... unviellard
Est-ce le garçon?