Artwork
Inconvénient de quitter...un convoi de chemin de fer...
Inconvénient de quitter...un convoi de chemin de fer... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1847 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
If you're interested in learning more about this style of art, you might want to explore the Romanticism movement.
This lithograph depicts two men in old-fashioned clothing, one in a top hat, standing on a hillside. They are looking down at a train track in the distance. The man in the top hat is holding onto a stone wall for support. The scene is rendered in dark, muted tones, with the sky above them filled with clouds.
The men's clothing and the style of the train suggest that the scene is set in the mid-19th century. The artist's use of dark tones and bold lines creates a sense of drama and tension in the scene.
If you're interested in learning more about this style of art, you might want to explore the Romanticism movement.
Overview
Honoré Daumier’s 1847 lithograph, titled Inconvénient de quitter...un convoi de chemin de fer..., is executed on newsprint. The print shows two figures in period dress, one topped by a high hat, perched on a slope and observing a distant railway line. The composition is rendered in muted, dark hues, with a cloud‑filled sky that heightens the scene’s somber atmosphere.
Subject & Meaning
The work juxtaposes traditional attire with the emerging technology of the railway, suggesting a tension between old‑world customs and modern progress. By placing the observers on a hillside looking down at the tracks, Daumier invites reflection on how industrial change reshapes everyday life and social perspectives in mid‑century France.
Technique & Style
Daumier employed lithographic processes on inexpensive newsprint, using strong, decisive lines and a limited palette of greys and blacks. The stark contrasts and simplified forms convey a dramatic mood, while the rough texture of the paper adds a sense of immediacy characteristic of his caricature work.
History & Provenance
Created during Daumier’s prolific period of political and social satire, the print was produced in the same decade that saw his contributions to satirical journals such as La Caricature and Le Charivari. It reflects his republican sympathies and his habit of critiquing the hierarchies of the July Monarchy and later regimes.
Context
The image emerges from a France undergoing rapid industrialization, where railways symbolized both technological advancement and social disruption. Daumier’s choice of a railway as a focal point aligns with contemporary debates about the impact of modernization on traditional ways of life.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Honoré-Victorin Daumier (French: ; 26 February 1808 – 10 or 11 February 1879) was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the…
Ohé! ... Combien votre lievre? ...
Moi d'abord sitot que je vois un lièvre ...
Monsieur, vu l'absence complète ...
J'ai vu un lièvre... il y a huit jours!
Dire que je n'ai pas pu tirer ...
Voisin, êtes-vous comme moi? ...
A la recherche d'une forêt en Champagne (In Search of a Forest in Champagne)
Oui, monsieur Gimblet, l'ordre ne sera... rétabli...
Ces artistes sont presque tous fous . . . Ma parole d'honneur! . . . En voilà un qui a l'idée de faire le portrait d'un vieil arbre!
La Rencontre sous bois