Who painted Les Crêpes?

Les Crêpes was painted by Honoré Daumier in 1845.

Where can I see Les Crêpes?

Les Crêpes is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Les Crêpes?

Les Crêpes is associated with Romanticism.

Can I buy a print of Les Crêpes?

Museum-quality prints of Les Crêpes are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Les Crêpes

Honoré Daumier , 1845

Les Crêpes is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1845 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1845, Les Crêves is a lithographic print by French artist Honoré Daumier. The work presents a modest interior scene in which a small group of figures are engaged in the preparation of crêpes, offering a glimpse of everyday domestic life during the mid‑nineteenth‑century French Republic.

Subject & Meaning

Two women stand behind him, one with a hand near her mouth and the other smiling, while a plate and a bowl rest on a nearby table.

The composition shows four individuals in a dimly lit room that appears to be a kitchen. A man at the foreground holds a rolling pin and seems startled, as if something has just fallen. Two women stand behind him, one with a hand near her mouth and the other smiling, while a plate and a bowl rest on a nearby table. The casual, slightly exaggerated expressions suggest a gentle humor in ordinary chores.

Technique & Style

Daumier employed the lithographic process, allowing him to render swift, sketch‑like lines that convey immediacy. The print’s soft lighting and blurred edges enhance the sense of a fleeting moment, while the loose drawing style gives the scene a lively, almost photographic quality.

History & Provenance

Daumier produced the print while working for satirical journals such as La Caricature and Le Charivari, where he regularly used his art to comment on social and political issues. Although Les Crêpes focuses on a domestic subject, it reflects his broader interest in everyday French life under the July Monarchy and the early Second Republic.

Context

In the 1840s, lithography became a popular medium for rapid dissemination of images, especially for periodicals. Daumier’s use of the technique placed him among artists who could quickly reach a wide audience, blending fine art with the immediacy of newspaper illustration.

Je n'ai jamais tant ri qu'a l'enterrement de la fille a Bourdin..., Honoré Daumier

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Artist & collection

Artist

Honoré Daumier

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…