Artwork
La Queue au Spectacle
La Queue au Spectacle is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1840 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower right plate: h.Daumier; across top, printed: ÉMOTIONS PARISIENNES. / 21.; across bottom, printed: Chez Bauger R. du Croissant, 16. LA QUEUE AU SPECTACLE Imp d'Aubert & Cie. / Et les sans coeur crient contre l'autorité qui les empéche de s'ecraser, et qui passe sa vie dans la neige et / dans la crotte, voilà pourtant le sort des gouvernements!...; by later hand, lower right verso in graphite: $600 / MS-93-20-RGE-GE; by later hand, lower left verso in graphite: D. 705, II/II
About this work
Overview
La Queue au Spectacle is a lithograph on wove paper created by Honoré Daumier in 1840. It is a print that captures a moment of everyday life in 19th-century France.
Subject & Meaning
The lithograph depicts a crowd packed into a second-story window, eagerly watching a scene below, while a lone figure on the street gazes up at them. The title, meaning 'The Line for the Show', suggests the crowd is waiting for a performance, highlighting the public's desire for entertainment.
Technique & Style
Daumier employed a rough, expressive lithographic style, using quick, sketchy lines to convey the energy and density of the crowd. The dark, animated scene is characteristic of his satirical and caricatural approach to art.
Context
The work reflects Daumier's engagement with the social and political climate of France during the July Monarchy and Second Republic. As a republican democrat, he frequently critiqued power structures through his art, targeting the monarchy, aristocracy, and clergy.
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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…
Oh Patrie!!!
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Et parlant a sa portière ainsi déclarée...
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Tiens, papa, te v'la! ...
Un Voyage d'agrément a Paris- La Queue au spectacle