Daumier’s caricature of the French King
Recently I was walking through our National Art Gallery and came upon a small exhibition called ‘Impressions of Paris: Lautrec, Degas and Daumier’. I thought it was a strange coincidence as it was just when the tragic events were unfolding in Paris. I’ve seen plenty of works by Lautrec and Degas (some works even, I’m sure, live in the gallery’s reserve and has had multiple appearances in different exhibitions in the past). Honore Daumier, however, I have not been much aware of til, well, the existence of this exhibition. Daumier, I found was a predecessor to the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists and represented the spirit of free speech in Paris even more than a 100 years ago.
Honore Daumier was considered a ‘Michelangelo of caricature’ of his time. He too, created satires and caricatures for publications in the 1890s that were critical of the status quo. Daumier lived in a Paris that was still coping with the aftermath of the French Revolution and the uprising of the Industrial Revolution. He was often sympathetic of the poor and was merciless in his portrayals of the elites of society. Daumier was also a gifted painter but fellow contemporaries, like Corot and Delacroix and others, were mainly interested in his caricatures which were considered much more daring and are still known today, as one of the best representation of 19th century Parisian life. Daumier was certainly ahead of his times and was credited as an inspiration even to artists after him, such as Lautrec and Degas (as shown in the exhibition). Daumier definitely brought to mind the cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo and what they both did for their respective generations were not that different. Daumier did not suffer as brutal an outcome as his successors but he certainly suffered for his provocative social commentaries (he was once jailed for a less than favourable depiction of the French King and died penniless and in debt).
It seems that every generation there is a voice braver than others and there appear to be consequences or penalties for such freedom. Even today with our so called democratic societies, it is sad that democracy is only an idealistic concept for some rather than a reality or belief. For democracy to exist there needs to be more than one voice. It’s healthy to have an ongoing dialogue about ‘Freedom of Speech’ and what it means. It is tragic that those who seek to suppress this use it as an excuse for senseless violence. Seeing the response of the French people to such atrocities in their country has been inspiring. Even in the face of such adversities, they have shown they will not be defined by it but rather, will rise above it in solidarity.
Peace and love to Paris.
Seeking Garance 