Honoré Victorin Daumier

Honoré Victorin Daumier was born in Marseille on the 26th February 1808 and followed his father, a worker in glass, to Paris in 1816. In 1822 he became a pupil of the painter and archaeologist, Alexandre Lenoir and as part of his studies, spent time studying the Old Master paintings in the Louvre. In the late 1820's he studied at the Académie Suisse and was apprenticed to the lithographer Beliard. After the revolution of 1830, Daumier aligned himself with the democratic movement and began producing politically charged cartoons for the satirical journals La Caricature and Le Charivari, earning public recognition for his grotesque caricatures of the ruling bourgeoisie. It is for this reason that Honoré Daumier occupies a pivotal place in the history of 19th Century art. He not only set a significant precedent by overlaying the 'low art' of caricature with the 'high art' of painting, but his engagement with a form of politically-reactant art also aligned him with his contemporaries Millet and Corot. Daumier's drawings were based on a keen observation of his Parisian world and his caricatures combined expressive, skilled draftsmanship with a poignant insight into human nature and society. With his apt ability to construct humorous allegorical 'types' that embodied an entire era of French politics and society, Daumier created an art form that was easily understood by the public at large and mass circulated within the pages of the public press. It was this critique of society that led to his imprisonment for six months in 1832 for creating a caricature of King Louis Philippe. Daumier left Paris in 1865 and retired to Valmondois where he lived until his death in 1879. He left behind an enormous body of work consisting of over 4,000 lithographs, 900 drawings for engravings, more than 700 paintings and more than 60 sculptures.