Jan 2, 2009

Rue Transnonain, April 15, 1834

Rue Transnonain, April 15, 1834

1834

Honoré Daumier

(French, 1808–1879)

Lithograph

Support: Chine colle on cream wove support

Sheet: 36.5 x 55 cm (14 3/8 x 21 5/8 in.); Image: 28.6 x 44 cm (11 1/4 x 17 5/16 in.)

Gift of Ralph King 1924.809

Catalogue raisonné: Daumier Register / Delteil 135 ; Hazard-Delteil 310

State: only state

Location

Did you know?

Although government censors approved publication of this print, they seized it upon its exhibition in a Parisian print shop.

Description

Although it supported the French middle class, the government of Louis-Philippe (1773–1850) oppressed workers. The rebellion of the silk weavers of Lyon, who toiled 18 hours a day for a pittance, touched off a sympathetic revolt in Paris. During the uprising, sniper fire directed toward government troops emanated from a house on the Rue Transnonain. In retaliation, the soldiers indiscriminately massacred residents, including old men, women, and children. In this haunting image, Daumier focused attention on the human suffering and loss of life, emphasizing the innocence of the victims and the violence of their deaths. Between 1830 and 1835 censorship laws had been suspended, allowing Charles Philipon (1806–1862) to publish a number of periodicals like L'Association Mensuelle, where Rue Transnonain appeared. Daumier, one of the most accomplished and prolific lithographers of the 19th century, often provided caricatures criticizing contemporary political abuses or satirizing French society.

See also
Collection: 
PR - Lithograph
Department: 
Prints
Type of artwork: 
Print
Medium: 
Lithograph
Credit line: 
Gift of Ralph King

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