Jacques Bonhomme: Sorry, Madam, but you are really too decrepit!, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, June 8, 1872

Art Historical Context

Honoré Daumier's *Jacques Bonhomme: Sorry Madam, but you are really too decrepit!*, published in the satirical newspaper *Le Charari* on June 8, 1872, the sharp wit of this master caricaturist. Created as a lithograph on newsprint—the second state two—this print measures about 10 by 8 inches and exemplifies Daumier's prowess in lithography, a technique he helped elevate from mere reproduction to expressive art. Printed in large editions for daily papers, these works brought biting social commentary directly to the public during France's Second Empire. The image features Jacques Bonhomme, a folkloric everyman symbolizing the French peasant or common laborer, delivering a comically blunt rejection to an older woman. With exaggerated features—wrinkled faces, expressive gestures—Daumier skewers everyday hypocrisies around age, gender, and class. His realist style, infused with caricature, highlights the absurdities of bourgeois pretensions amid rapid urbanization and social upheaval in 1870s Paris. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection (Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1948), this piece underscores Daumier's enduring legacy: over 4,000 lithographs that influenced modern political cartooning and championed the underdog's voice. A delightful jab at human vanity, it invites visitors to chuckle at timeless follies.

About the Artist

Honoré Daumier · 1810–1879

Honoré-Victorin Daumier (1808-1879) was a prolific French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor whose works offered incisive commentary on the social and political life of 19th-century France. Known as the 'Michelangelo of Caricature,' Daumier produced over 4,000 lithographs, 500 paintings, 1,000 drawings, and 100 sculptures during his lifetime. His biting political satire led to his imp...