Honoré Daumier

(possibly) M. Béguin, Paris (acquired by 1878)

Auguste-Marie Boulard, France (sold: Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 10th April 1900, lot 150)

M. G. Mühlbacher, France (sold: Galeries Georges Petit, Paris, 13th-15th May 1907, lot 159)

(possibly) F. Collet, Paris

Gabriel Cognacq, Paris (acquired by 1919)

Galerie Max Kaganovitch, Paris

Nehama Jaglom, New York (acquired from the above. Sold: Sotheby's, New York, 3rd May 2005, lot 3)

Purchased at the above sale by the late owner

(possibly) Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Exposition des peintures et dessins de Honoré Daumier, 1878, no. 144 (titled En Cour d'assises)

(possibly) Paris, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, La Caricature, 1888, no. 389 (titled En Cour d'assises)

Paris, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Exposition Daumier, 1901, no. 186 (titled La Délibération)

Paris, Petit Palais, 1919 (on loan from Gabriel Cognacq)

Paris, Musée de l'Orangerie, Honoré Daumier: Peintures, aquarelles, dessins, 1934, no. 126

Paris, Galerie Max Kaganovich, Œuvres choisies du XIXe siècle, 1950, no. 14 (titled Au tribunal)

Paris, Galerie Max Kaganovich, Les 30 ans de la Galerie. Dessins, aquarelles, tableaux, sculptures des XIXe et XXe siècles, 1966

Munich, Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Das Ewige Auge - Von Rembrandt bis Picasso. Meisterwerke aus der Sammlung Jan Krugier und Marie-Anne Krugier-Poniatowski, 2007, no. 107, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Erich Klossowski, Honoré Daumier, Munich, 1908, no. 135A, listed p. 99

Karl-Erich Maison, Honoré Daumier, Catalogue Raisonné of the Watercolours and Drawings, London, 1967, vol. II, no. 653, illustrated pl. 247

Bruce Laughton, Honoré Daumier, New Haven & London, 1996, no. 125, illustrated p. 100 (as dating from 1867-70)

Executed on laid paper, laid down onto a support sheet. Hinged to the backboard at the top corners and at the top centre. The sheet is slightly time-stained. There is a small fox mark at the lower left edge. The colours are fresh. This work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although the grey and black tones are more neutral and less warm in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Daumier is best known for his satirical drawings and watercolours depicting French nobility, politicians, magistrates, lawyers and other bureaucrats. Considered among the best caricature and social satire drawings of the 19th Century, these pictures offered pointed critiques of contemporary society and captured the flavour of modern life during the Second Empire. In addition to their cultural and political significance, Daumier's drawings also demonstrated his unrivalled skill as a draughtsman and his eye for singling out the most expressive physical details of those whom he depicted. Discussing the present work and its counterpart in The Phillips Collection (fig. 1), Bruce Laughton writes: 'The single defendant in the Phillips drawing, probably a criminal, is replaced by a whole gang of ruffians in another rendering of Le défenseur [the present work] [...]. Here one of the accused, evidently the ringleader, leans over to speak to the defending counsel as if threatening him, while the counsel holds out his hands in despair. This lively piece of characterisation is so spontaneous in execution, and yet complete in its expression, that one could speculate the first owner might have bought it outright before it was finished' (B. Laughton, op. cit., p. 100).

In this work which probably dates from the early 1860s, Daumier portrays the defence attorney as he is counselled by a member of the courtroom audience. Daumier depicted this same lawyer in a series of watercolours dating between 1862-65. When several of these works were exhibited in Paris in 1878, the lawyer and aspiring politician worried that Daumier's depictions were too recognisable. The critic Geoffroy-Dechaume assured him that all of the characters were imaginary, but explained that Daumier 'knows lawyers, and above all, the lawyer, better than they know themselves. Whence the resemblance that so surprises you' (quoted in Daumier (exhibition catalogue), National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, 1999-2000, p. 271).