1844
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Surveillant la Commission de Surveillance is a 1844 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a tense street scene. In the foreground, a woman in a long coat and hat waves something in her hand—maybe a paper or a small object. Behind her, a guard in a tall hat stands stiffly near a fence, watching her. A building with the words *"Bourse Nationale"* is in the background, and the whole scene feels hurried and uneven. The title hints this might be about a watch committee, but the artist’s loose lines make it feel more like a snapshot of real life than a polished drawing. The rough, sketchy style fits the newsprint it was printed on. If you like this style, check out lithography to see how artists used stone and ink to make prints like this.
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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