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Les Saltimbanques

Watercolour
ca. 1866-67 (made)
Artist/Maker
Daumier, Honoré (artist)
Place of origin
France (made)

The great French graphic artist Honoré Daumier made many drawings of saltimbanques (performers at fairs). In this poignant drawing an ageing clown bangs a drum balanced precariously on a chair, in the hope of attracting an audience. One acrobat son looks expectantly towards the distant crowd, while the other steadies the chair for his father. Their mother, however, sits in utter dejection, resigned to the crowd's indifference.

Object details

Category
Watercolours
Object type
Watercolour
Titles
  • Les Saltimbanques (assigned by artist)
  • The Mountebank
Materials and techniques
Watercolour drawing
Pen and Ink and Watercolour
Chalk
Drawn
Brief description
Daumier, Saltimbanques, ca.1866-67, watercolour
Physical description
Watercolour drawing of a family of circus performers outdoors at a fair. In the centre a middle-aged clown bangs a drum which is precariously balanced on a chair. He is accompanied by two boys, one standing to the left, the other sitting on the ground to the right. A middle-aged woman sits on the far left in an attitude of dejection. The clown and standing boy look towards a crowd of people in the middle distance.
Dimensions
  • Height: 33.7cm
  • Width: 39.7cm
Marks and inscriptions
Signed h. Daumier in the left-hand lower corner
Credit line
Bequeathed by C. A. Ionides
Object history
Acquired by Constantine Alexander Ionides by 1878; lent in 1878 by Ionides to Daumier exh. at Durand-Ruel in Paris, cat no. 203); in his inventory of 1881 (private collection) as 'Les Saltimbanques' with a valuation of £100; Bequeathed by C.A. Ionides, 1900
Subjects depicted
Clowns
Performers
Performing Artists
Fairground
Summary
The great French graphic artist Honoré Daumier made many drawings of saltimbanques (performers at fairs). In this poignant drawing an ageing clown bangs a drum balanced precariously on a chair, in the hope of attracting an audience. One acrobat son looks expectantly towards the distant crowd, while the other steadies the chair for his father. Their mother, however, sits in utter dejection, resigned to the crowd's indifference.
Bibliographic references
  • Colta Ives, Margret Stuffmann and Martin Sonnabend, Daumier Drawings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1992, no.112.
  • K.E. Maison, Honore Daumier,Catalogue Raisonne of the Paintings, Watercolours and Drawings, London 1968, vol. II,The Watercolours and Drawings, London 1968,p.181, cat. no. 542
  • Basil S. Long, Catalogue of the Constantine Alexander Ionides Collection, vol. I, Paintings in Oil, Tempera and Water-Colour together with certain of the Drawings, London 1925, p.16. cat. no. 120
  • E. Klossowski, Honoré Daumier, Munich, 1908, cat. no. 193.
  • E. Fuchs, Der Maler Daumier, Munich, 1927, cat. no. 256.
  • J. Adhémar, Honoré Daumier: Drawings and Watercolours, New York and Basel, 1954, cat. no. 46.
  • E. K. Maison, 'Daumier Studies I - Preparatory Drawings' in The Burlington Magazine, XCVI (January 1954), p. 14.
  • E. K. Maison, 'Further Daumier Studies I - The Tracings' in The Burlington Magazine, XCVIII (May 1956), p.165.
  • Ives, Colta., Stuffmann, Margaret., and Sonnabend Martin, Daumier Drawings, New York, 1992, p.224-227
  • p.169 John Berger, Daumier. Visions of Paris. London, Royal Academy, 2013. ISBN: 9781907533334.
  • p. 24 Richard Thomson, Seurat's Circus sideshow. New York : The Metropolitan Museum of Art, [2017]. ISBN: 9781588396150
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
CAI.120

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Record createdFebruary 8, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O144911/les-saltimbanques-watercolour-daumier-honoré/
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