1852
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Parisiens surpris par la marée... is a 1852 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This drawing shows three people flailing in shallow water. One man in a top hat is waving a cane like a telescope, another person is sprawled with tangled hair, and a third stands in the background holding something. The waves look choppy, and a dog is swimming near the shore. The title at the bottom reads *"Parisians surprised by the rising tide."* The scene looks silly on purpose—like a joke about city folks who don’t know how to handle water. The artist used quick, sketchy lines to make it feel urgent and funny. Next, check out lithography to see how this kind of drawing was made.
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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