Sappho's Death. “Young ladies, you see where love leads us Under our feet so dainty and small The wretched chasm of an abyss Into which we eventually fall,” plate 49 from Histoire Ancienne
Medium
Lithograph in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 23.9 × 18.7 cm (9 7/16 × 7 3/8 in.); Sheet: 36 × 27.5 cm (14 3/16 × 10 7/8 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
63486
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Daumier’s 50-print series Stories from Antiquity appeared in Charivari over about a year. The Greek poet Sappho is said to have killed herself over a love affair, though specific details of her death are scant. Here Daumier added a helpful Cupid to nudge the unhinged but indecisive figure over the edge, while Charivari writers supplied verses significantly less artful than Sappho’s:Young ladies, you see where love leads us Under our feet so dainty and small The wretched chasm of an abyss Into...
About the Artist
Honoré-Victorin Daumier · 1808–1879
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...