Wandering Saltimbanques

mid-1840s

The Series "Les Gens de Justice"

Around the mid-1840s Daumier began publishing his famous caricatures of lawyers, "Les Gens de Justice," a biting satire of judges, attorneys, and defendants that eventually comprised 39 subjects.

1846

Move to the Île Saint-Louis; Meeting Baudelaire

In 1846 the couple moved to 9 Quai d'Anjou on the Île Saint-Louis, where they lived until 1863. Writers and artists gathered at the nearby Hôtel de Lauzun; there Daumier met Baudelaire, who became his close friend and champion, and grew close to Corot, Courbet, Delacroix, Millet, and Rousseau.

16 April 1846

Marriage to Alexandrine Dassy

On 16 April 1846 Daumier married Alexandrine Dassy.

1848

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.