Theater Audience

Honoré Daumier was a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor, whose many works offer commentary on social and political life in France in the 19th century. He was perhaps best known for his caricatures of political figures and satires on the behavior of his countrymen, although posthumously the value of his painting has also been recognized. As a painter, Daumier was one of the pioneers of realistic subjects, but he treated them with a very subjective point of view. Daumier was deeply fascinated by the world of the theater. He created skillful lithographs and oil paintings of street players, backstage scenes, the bourgeoisie in the audience and scenes on the stage. He created several lithographs during the period 1852-64 that incorporate the motif of peeping out from the dark box seats to the bright stage. He clearly shows the figures' enjoyment and boredom in his lithographs, while in this oil painting he renders the figures in silhouette so that their facial expressions can barely be discerned. A black-clothed group is set against the gorgeous background of a front row box in the left front of the scene. The audience is shown only in careful, simple silhouettes. This type of expression reflects Daumier's study of figural poses and facial expressions, and his thorough understanding of social position, character and sentiment. Daumier took up the relatively new subject of modern life through broad-stroked silhouettes, abbreviated details, and his rendering of subtle nuances in a limited palette. His work later exerted considerable influence on Manet and Degas.