Artwork
Un coup de feu!
Un coup de feu! is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1839 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
This lithograph shows a barber trimming a customer’s hair while the man glares at the mirror.
This lithograph shows a barber trimming a customer’s hair while the man glares at the mirror. The barber’s smirk and the customer’s angry face make it feel like a joke about bad haircuts. Thin, scratchy lines add to the funny, messy mood.
Daumier made this in 1839 using a new print method called lithography. It let him draw on stone with greasy ink, then press the image onto paper. The loose, scratchy style feels quick and full of personality.
Lithography let artists like Daumier sell prints cheaply and widely.
Overview
Un coup de feu! is a lithograph created by Honoré Daumier in 1839, capturing a moment of tension between a barber and his client during a haircut. The work belongs to a series of satirical prints Daumier produced using lithography, a technique that allowed for rapid, expressive imagery and broad distribution. Its informal, energetic style reflects the artist’s interest in everyday social dynamics.
Subject & Meaning
The scene portrays a customer glaring at his reflection while the barber smirks, suggesting a clash between expectation and reality. The customer’s frustration and the barber’s amused detachment highlight the vulnerability inherent in personal grooming rituals. Daumier uses this intimate setting to subtly critique societal pretensions and the often-absurd pursuit of appearance.
Technique & Style
Daumier employed lithography, drawing directly onto a limestone surface with greasy ink, then transferring the image to paper. His use of thin, erratic lines conveys motion and emotion, avoiding polished detail in favor of spontaneous, almost sketchlike energy. The rough texture enhances the comedic tension, making the figures feel immediate and unfiltered.
History & Provenance
Created in 1839, the print emerged during a period when Daumier was producing satirical illustrations for French periodicals. Lithography enabled affordable reproduction, allowing his work to reach a wide, middle-class audience. Though originally published in newspapers, this image later circulated as a standalone print, gaining recognition for its sharp observation of urban life.
Context
In mid-19th century France, public barbershops were social hubs where class distinctions and personal anxieties surfaced. Daumier, known for his critiques of bourgeois norms, used such settings to expose the gap between public composure and private irritation. His prints responded to the growing demand for visual satire in an increasingly literate and urban society.
Legacy
Daumier’s use of lithography helped democratize art, making social commentary accessible beyond elite circles. Un coup de feu! exemplifies his influence on later caricaturists and expressionist printmakers who valued emotional immediacy over formal refinement. The work remains a key example of how print technology expanded the reach of critical visual culture.
Artist & collection
Artist
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.
