1846
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
L'Avocat que se trouve mal is a 1846 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a packed courtroom. In the front, a crowd of people in old-fashioned coats and hats lean forward, watching a lawyer who’s clutching his stomach. Behind him, a judge and clerk sit on a raised bench. Upstairs, a woman in a long dress is peeking over the railing, looking down at the chaos. The lawyer’s pose—one hand on his belly, the other holding papers—hints he’s faking sickness to delay the case. The caption below jokes that he’s the last trick when the case is already weak. Next, check out lithography to see how artists like Daumier made sharp, detailed prints with this technique.
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 page
