Honoré DaumierFrench, 1808–1879Les trois commères
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Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
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- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
This drawing showing three gossip women is emblematical of Honoré Daumier (1808-79)’s work. The artist was well versed in the workings of lifestyle and theatrical scenes, showing the different social classes in a relevant and humorous way.
Daumier’s expressive faces and compositions reveal his interest for individuality. His career has been deeply marked by his caricatures lithographed in different French newspapers such as La Caricature and Le Charivari. It is not unlikely that this drawing was intended as a preparatory study for an engraving executed in the late 1850s.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- CAI.122
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Meanwhile, in the life of Honoré Daumier
The whole life1848
Sketch "The Republic" Among Competition Finalists
On Courbet's advice, Daumier submitted an oil sketch, "The Republic" (now in the Musée d'Orsay), to the competition for an allegory of the new Republic; it was very well received and was among the twenty finalists, but Daumier never executed the finished painting.
1848
Albums on the Revolution of 1848
The Revolution of 1848 provided the material for two of Daumier's albums, "Parliamentary Idylls" and "The Representatives Represented"; he once again launched a political campaign in the pages of Le Charivari.
1849
First Participation in the Salon
In 1849 Daumier exhibited at the Salon for the first time, showing the painting "The Miller, His Son, and the Donkey"; from the late 1840s he devoted himself increasingly to painting.
from 1853
Summer Trips to Valmondois and Barbizon
From about 1853 Daumier spent the summer months in Valmondois and Barbizon, where Corot, Daubigny, Millet, and Rousseau were working, deepening his friendships with the artists of the Barbizon school.
1858
Serious Illness
In 1858 Daumier suffered a serious illness.
1860
Le Charivari Dropped His Caricatures
After thirty years of continuous work, the popularity of Daumier's caricatures declined, and in 1860 Le Charivari dismissed him from its staff. Years of hardship followed, but also of free time for painting — a period of great productivity and artistic growth.
