Absinthe: The first glass, the sixth glass, from 'The Chinese of Paris," published in Le Charivari, December 22, 1863

Art Historical Context

In the bustling satirical world of 19th-century Paris Honoré Daumier, collaborators Aaron Martinet and Dest, captured the perils of absinthe addiction in this lithograph from *Le Charivari*, published on December 22,1863. Titled *Absinthe: The first, the sixth glass* the series *The Chinese Paris*, it humorously contrasts a composed drinker savoring his initial sip with a disheveled figure slumped after the sixth, embodying Daumier's sharp social commentary on urban vices. Daumier, a master of caricature and a key figure in French lithography, used this affordable newsprint medium to reach wide audiences, critiquing the bohemian café culture where absinthe—known as the "green fairy"—fueled both creativity and ruin. The second state of this print highlights refined details in expression and posture, amplifying the satire on drunkenness among men. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Elisha Whittelsey Collection, this work reflects mid-19th-century anxieties over alcohol's grip on Parisian life, blending biting wit with technical prowess in lithography for enduring cultural resonance.