Honoré Daumier was a French artist born in Marseille in 1808. He started his artistic career as a graphic artist creating illustrations and plates for advertisements. However, he is most known for his satirical cartoons and caricatures that offered commentary on French society and politics from 1830 to 1870.
Daumier’s style was unique and original, making him recognized as a realist artist who influenced the movements of Romanticism and Realism in art history. His work was inspired by classical sculpture as well as the works of Rubens and Titian.
The artist’s most famous characters were Robert Macaire, a bourgeois character, and Ratapoil, an evil character. These characters appeared frequently in Daumier’s satirical cartoons to criticize social issues such as corruption.
Daumier’s career marked him out as being both prolific and talented. He worked across painting, sculpture, graphics arts and print-making with regular exhibition success over four decades until his death at age sixty-nine. From his lasting impact within the art world to the innovative techniques that he employed throughout his oeuvre, there are plenty of important reasons why Honoré Daumier stands out among major figures in Western European artistic achievement today.
