–Are you going to open the door of the cage? –Indeed.... I am going to repaint it, from 'News of the day,' published in "Le Charivari"

Art Historical Context

This witty lithograph, titled *–Are you going to open the door of the cage? –Indeed.... I am going to repaint it, from 'News of the Day,' published in "Le Charivari"*, was created by Honoré Daumier, with possible contributions from Arnaud de Vresse and Walter Frères, and published on March 22, 1870. Daumier, a master of French caricature, contributed prolifically to *Le Charivari*, a satirical newspaper that skewered politics, society, and daily life under Napoleon III's Second Empire. Printed on wove paper in its third and final state (as cataloged by Delteil), this work exemplifies the era's booming lithography industry, allowing affordable mass production of sharp social commentary. The image, featuring birds, men, and women, plays on the cage as a metaphor—perhaps for marriage, confinement, or political entrapment—with the punning dialogue suggesting superficial fixes over real liberation. At 9 5/16 × 8 1/16 inches, its compact size suited newspaper distribution, yet Daumier's expressive lines and dynamic composition pack satirical punch. Created amid France's tense pre-Franco-Prussian War atmosphere, it reflects the era's gender dynamics and bourgeois hypocrisies. Acquired via the Rogers Fund in 1922, this print from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department highlights Daumier's enduring legacy in visual journalism, blending humor with incisive critique for everyday audiences.

About the Artist

Arnaud de Vresse|Honoré Daumier|Walter Frères (French|French|French) · 1808 |1800 |1856 –1879 |1900 |1870

French, Marseilles 1808–1879 Valmondois|Paris|