Honoré Daumier was one of the greatest caricature artists and and cartoonists of all time. (Balzac's said, "There is a lot of Michelangelo in that fellow.") His biting satire of the French government and bourgeoisie culture in the upheaval following the 1830 Revolution in France often got him in trouble with those in power. One political cartoon satirizing the corpulent monarch Louis-Philippe as a hungry giant gobbling bags of money fed to him by the poor lead to a six month imprisonment. Daumier’s style is highly animated and humorous. Even without the historical context, his drawings all have a sense of movement, strong characters, and usually tell some kind of story.

Beyond his political art, he often depicted the lives of the poor and French commoner and enjoyed creating art about actors and performers. He also enjoyed literary themes and his drawings and paintings depicting the misadventures of Don Quixote are some of his most famous. His sense of humor and style are akin to the art of Heinrich Kley but Daumier’s satire is much more barbed than the whimsical Kley.

Daumier was extremely prolific, producing over 500 paintings, 4000 lithographs, 1000 wood engravings, 1000 drawings and 100 sculptures and his style varied widely over his lifetime. Though he worked with many famous artists of the time and his cartoons were widely circulated, he never found fame in his time. In his later life he struggled with poverty, illness, and growing blindness. It wasn’t until after his death that he became regarded as ahead of his time. Many of his works were unfinished and unseen until 20 years after his death. Today, Daumier is celebrated for his skill as and artist and a commentator in a time of dramatic political, economic, and social upheaval.

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It’s hard for find a book that thoroughly covers Daumier long and varied career but Daumier, 1808-1879 is excellent. It’s a bargain for the art and history it contains.