HONORÉ DAUMIER Monseigneur s'ils persistent nous mettrons Paris en état de siege.
Lithograph with hand coloring in watercolor, 1831. 260x230 mm; 10 3/8x9 inches, wide margins. The Daumier Register's first state (of 2), before the reduction of the stone. From the deluxe edition sur blanc, before the large published edition with text verso. Printed by Delaunois, Paris. Published by Aubert et Cie., Paris. From Caricatures. A very good impression with strong colors.
Daumier (1808-1879) was one of the leading draftsmen of controversial and highly critical political caricatures that cleverly captured the political strife prevalent throughout France in the 19th century. Born in Marseilles and raised in Paris, Daumier began studying art in 1822 under painter Alexandre Lenior, thereafter he enrolled for a short time in the Académie Suisse, and continued training as an apprentice under master lithographer Zépherin Belliard. By 1830 he was producing caricatures depicting the foibles of the bourgeoisie and the corruption of the government for Charles Philipon's satirical political newspaper Le Caricature. The scathing political caricatures Daumier produced for Le Caricature and Philipon's other publications were often fined and censored by King Louis-Philippe's officials, in fact the cartoons were so offensive that a single caricature depicting Louis-Philippe as Gargantua resulted in Daumier receiving a sentence of 6 months in prison. The current lithograph was made at the outset of Daumier's long, prolific career, when he was just 23 years old. Delteil 24.
