1850
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Prochaine ordannace du préfet de police is a 1850 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
You see a print full of riders on horses with huge bells strapped to their saddles. The bells are comically outsized, almost like cartoon props. The riders look annoyed or tired, not proud. Daumier used this scene to poke fun at a real Paris rule. In 1850, the city ordered bells removed from horse cabs to cut down on noise. The print turns that rule into a visual joke. Look up lithography next — it’s the printing process he used.
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 →
