Une Cause Criminelle

Honoré Daumier (1808-79) was well versed in the workings of the law courts, having been condemned to a six month jail for having caricatured King Louis-Philippe in his engraving Gargantua. After his release, Daumier frequently visited the courts, where members of the legal profession provided him with a wealth of subjects for caricature. The present drawing shows a lawyer pleading the case of his client standing just behind him.