1851
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
L'Inconvénient d'avoir un ami mélomane is a 1851 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
Two men stand indoors, arguing. One holds a sheet of music, gesturing wildly with his free hand. His friend looks annoyed, arms crossed, mouth open like he’s about to speak. The room is plain, with a dark wall and a few scattered objects on the floor. The man with the music is clearly frustrated—maybe he’s singing off-key or playing too loud. The other guy’s crossed arms say it all: *not now*. This sketch uses lithography, a printing method that lets artists draw directly onto 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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