1834
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
La tête branlante is a 1834 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a big crowd of people leaning over a railing. At the center, a woman in a fancy white dress and hat is waving or pointing dramatically. Below her, a sign reads *"RECOIS TOUJOURS"* (French for "always welcome"). The faces around her look surprised or confused, and the scene feels chaotic. The artist used quick, sketchy lines to make the scene feel urgent. This style was common in political cartoons of the time. Next, look up lithography to see how artists made prints like this.
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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