AFTER HONORE DAUMIER (FRANCE, 1808-1879): A BRONZE CARICATURE OF A FRENCH ADVOCATE

The satirist Honoré Daumier perfected the art of lithography to produce 4000 caricatures of the bourgeois and ruling elite that were widely circulated in 19th Century Paris. Many of his subjects formed the basis of his 100 or so sculptures rendered in unbaked clay, later reproduced in plaster and then posthumously cast by the leading foundries of the 20th Century, including Valsuani and Barbedienne.

Daumier was particularly interested in the French legal system and censorship, after spending time in jail after poking fun at King Louis-Philippe in 1832. In this instance, his studies exaggerate a typical advocate’s over indulged stance, bulging from the long sleeved gown and mocking expression beneath the traditional stiff black hat, or bonnet carré.

Provenance: 

The property of a private family collection from a Knightsbridge residence