1865
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Le retour est souvent difficile is a 1865 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
Daumier’s 1865 lithograph shows two men walking side by side. One wears a top hat. The other has a worn face and simple clothes. The background is barely sketched, so the contrast between the men jumps out. Daumier made a living mocking French politics. Here, he uses satire to show how hard it is to come home after a long trip. The image feels quiet, not funny—just a sharp look at class and time. If you like this bite of social critique, try another Daumier, Honoré.
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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