1864
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Les spectateurs de l'orchestre is a 1864 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This lithograph shows men in a theater balcony. Their faces twist with boredom or excitement. Daumier catches how people really react, not the show they pretend to like. He made this in 1864. Back then, theater seats cost more than meals, so these men are rich but also fussy. Lithography lets him sketch fast and print cheap, spreading his sharp eye to everyone. This reminds me of Daumier’s other prints. See more at the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
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.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
