1842
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Télémaque interrogé par les sages is a 1842 ink by Honoré Daumier, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a group of older men sitting on a bench, looking at a younger guy standing in front of them. The younger man has his hands behind his back and seems nervous. The men are all bare-chested, with one holding a book or tablet, and they’re in a dim, rocky setting with trees in the background. The artist used quick, sketchy lines to show the characters’ expressions—some look confused, one is frowning, and another seems bored. The scene feels like a casual but intense moment, maybe a test or a lesson. Next, check out lithography to see how this sketchy style 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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