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The exhibition celebrates Daumier's 200th birthday (1808-1879). 220 items have been chosen that highlight the evolution in the creation process of his lithographs. From the Restored Monarchy until the Fall of the Second Empire, the lithographer produced many works for the press among which main pieces on display.
The Bibliothèque nationale de France celebrates Daumier’s 200th birthday (1808-1879). 220 items have been chosen that highlight the evolution in the creation process of lithographs by Honoré Daumier called the « Michelangelo of caricature ». The touch of the artist is both unique in the form and universal in the content, showing the technical and stylistic innovations as well as the aesthetic committments that made Daumier one of the « masters of engraving » in art history.
From the Restored Monarchy until the Fall of the Second Empire, the lithographer produced many works for the press among which main pieces on display such as Le Ventre législatif, La Rue Transnonain or La Page d’histoire, but also some items that have been less often exhibited, showing black and white portraits taken from a vast « human comedy ». Corresponding to the dates of political changes and of laws on press freedom, five periods can be identified during which political caricatures alternate with portrayals of manners. Moreover, the chronological path goes with extremely rare and often unique proofs that allow the visitor to discover the work creation process, following all phases of lithographs production, between the drawing on the stone and the finished newspaper print.
Bibliotheque Nationale de France
Quai Francois Mauriac - Paris