1878
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Five Studies is a 1878 by Honoré Daumier, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This sketch shows five quick, rough drawings in black ink. At the top is a horse’s head, its mane wild and tangled. Below that, a tree trunk splits the page, its branches twisting like fingers. To the right, a person sits on a chair, half-hidden by a curtain. The bottom row has two faces—one side profile, one front—but both look unfinished, almost like sketches for a bigger work. The artist didn’t smooth out the lines. Instead, the ink looks hurried, like they were drawing fast to capture shapes and moods. The faces and horse feel alive, but the tree and chair seem more like quick notes. If you like this style, look up Realism next.
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 →
