Jean Charles Besnard

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.

1849

State Commission for a Painting

Through the Academy of Fine Arts, Daumier received a commission from the Ministry of the Interior for a painting worth 1,000 francs (later increased to 1,500). He never painted the picture, though he drew advances, and only in 1863 did he deliver to the state the gouache "The Drunkenness of Silenus" (1849).