Artwork
Une soirée d'allégresse a Clichy
Une soirée d'allégresse a Clichy is an ink print by the Impressionist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1865 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Honoré Daumée’s lithograph Une soirée d’allégresse à Clichy depicts a brief, exuberant moment in which two figures raise their arms toward a hat tossed aloft. The composition captures the instant of shared laughter, their faces animated with broad smiles that suggest a fleeting sense of freedom and communal joy.
Subject & Meaning
The work focuses on a spontaneous street scene, emphasizing the pleasure of carefree play. By isolating the gesture of catching a flying hat, Daumée underscores how ordinary gestures can become expressions of collective merriment, hinting at the social release found in public gatherings of the period.
Technique & Style
Executed in lithography, the print relies on the medium’s capacity for fine line work and tonal variation. Daumée employs swift, fluid strokes to render the figures’ movement, while careful attention to facial detail conveys emotion. The contrast between dark outlines and lighter washes heightens the sense of motion.
Context
Created during Daumée’s prolific mid‑19th‑century period, the image reflects the artist’s interest in everyday urban life. Lithography, then a popular method for mass‑produced images, allowed him to reach a broad audience, documenting the lively atmosphere of Parisian suburbs such as Clichy.
Own this work as a print
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.
