Honoré Daumier

(French, 1808-1879)

Enfant avec une Poupée, circa 1860-1862

oil on cradled panel

8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (21.6 x 16.5cm)

The Collection of Sidney Rothberg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Provenance:

(Possibly) Thadeus Natanson.

Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, France.

Max Bangerter, Montreaux, France.

Paul Haefliger, Bern, Switzerland.

Literature:

Edward Fuchs, Der Maler Daumier, Munich, 1930, pl. 11, no. 11(illustrated).

Jacques Lassaigne, Daumier, Paris, 1938, pl. 35.

Jean Adhémar, Honoré Daumier, Paris, 1954, pl. 112.

K.E. Maison, Honoré Daumier, Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings, vol. I, London, 1968, no. II-6, pl. 181.

Lot Essay:

Enfant avec une Poupée, circa 1860-1862 is an observant and sympathetic depiction by the artist Honoré Daumier of a young girl holding a doll. Best known for his realistic works of 19th century Paris and its inhabitants that often satirically skewered the bourgeoisie, lawyers, and judges, he also expertly captured the lower classes, including humble workers and their children. As evidenced by the present work, Daumier was a talented draftsman and colorist whose adept employment of outline, expressive pose, and localized color convey a sense of immediacy. Although the face of the child is not detailed, she appears alert, head turned left, with eyebrows raised and cheeks flushed. The translucency of the skin and hair was created by gradually building layers of thin glazes that appear to glow against the dark vermilion background. As Karl Eric Maison wrote, "The paintings were begun by drawing with a brush the rather precise outlines of all important details and flat color areas were confined within those lines...the substructure was then covered successively with transparent washes or glazes, alternating with layer upon layer of pigment. The artist's pronounced sculptural sense helped him in this building up of forms" (Maison, op. cit., 1968, p. 13).