Honoré Daumier

Arsène Alexandre (1859-1937), Paris,
his sale, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, 18-19 May 1903, lot 120;
G. Mühlbacher;
Dr. Charpentier;
with Jacques Dubourg;
with Nathan;
with P. Rosenberg & Co., New York;
Claude Bernard Gallery, New York,
from whom acquired by the present owner in 1989

Revue de l'Art Ancien et Moderne, XIII, 1903, p. 391;
E. Klossowski, Honoré Daumier, Munich 1923, no. 183;
K.E. Maison, Honoré Daumier: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolours and Drawings, London 1967, vol. II, p. 172, no. 517, reproduced, pl. 180

Laid down. Overall in good condition. Slight discoloration - sheet has yellowed. Small tear at the upper margin and another small repaired tear at the lower margin towards the right corner. Medium remains strong and vibrant. Sold in a carved and gilded frame.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Despite Daumier's well-known declaration that "One must be of one's own time,"¹ many of the artist's telling depictions of the personalities who surrounded him in the Paris of the mid-19th century also have an utterly timeless quality; Daumier observed and recorded their essential humanity.  In no group of drawings is this more the case than in the artist's various studies of street and fairground performers, most of which date from 1850s or later.  The sorts of actors, sideshow performers and clowns that we see in these acutely observant studies could just as easily be found in a painting by Breughel or Watteau, or in a drawing of figures from the Commedia dell'Arte by Domenico Tiepolo.  Daumier's fascination with these characters gave rise to a superb series of drawings and watercolours with this theme, which were considered deserving of a dedicated section of the catalogue in the major Daumier drawings exhibition held in Frankfurt and New York in 1992-93.² 

The figure in the present drawing is also found in a watercolor, 'Un Hercule et un Pierrot dans les coulisses,' in which he stands to the right of a hunched, seated clown.³  It is possible that Daumier traced the figure from this watercolor then worked it up as an independent study, a technique that he employed frequently. 

¹  O.W. Larkin, Daumier: Man of His Time, New York 1966, p. 210

²  Margret Stuffmann, 'Sideshows and Saltimbanques', Daumier Drawings, exh. cat., Frankfurt, Städelsche Kunstinstitut, and New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992-93, pp. 202-235, nos. 98-119

³  Maison, op. cit., p. 173, no. 519, reproduced pl. 181