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Lot Essay
Honoré Daumier approached his favourite subject, nineteenth century Paris, with a combination of realism and wit. Whilst some of his drawings can approach caricature, the present painting is observant and sympathetic without satire or exaggeration.
The unobtrusive wooded background heightens the rapport between the two sitting figures. Unlike other treatments of this subject from this period, such as Les Deux buveurs (c.1858, Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia), the figures are not held in intense interaction. Rather this is a calmer image where meaning can be found in subtlety. Here, both figures are settled around a small table. The left figure reads intently whilst the figure on the right, sitting with a slight recline, lights his pipe and glances over to his friend’s paper. They could be on the cusp of conversation, but in this moment both figures share an amicable moment together whilst pursuing separate pleasures.
As Ives would surmise, 'Daumier’s particular genius is evident in the stunning and disciplined clarity of his images. The artist never became mired in detail or narratives that required explanation, but instead concentrated on defining character through incisive description. Thus, true identities are revealed' (C. Ives, Daumier Drawings, exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992, p. 175).
The unobtrusive wooded background heightens the rapport between the two sitting figures. Unlike other treatments of this subject from this period, such as Les Deux buveurs (c.1858, Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia), the figures are not held in intense interaction. Rather this is a calmer image where meaning can be found in subtlety. Here, both figures are settled around a small table. The left figure reads intently whilst the figure on the right, sitting with a slight recline, lights his pipe and glances over to his friend’s paper. They could be on the cusp of conversation, but in this moment both figures share an amicable moment together whilst pursuing separate pleasures.
As Ives would surmise, 'Daumier’s particular genius is evident in the stunning and disciplined clarity of his images. The artist never became mired in detail or narratives that required explanation, but instead concentrated on defining character through incisive description. Thus, true identities are revealed' (C. Ives, Daumier Drawings, exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992, p. 175).