Honoré Daumier

French painter and printmaker. Born in Marseille on February 26th. In 1815, his father, a glassmaker and poet, went to Paris to make a living with his pen, and the family moved there the following year. After struggling as a servant to a bailiff and a clerk in a bookseller, he decided to become a painter. He eventually mastered the techniques of lithography, and in 1830 he caught the attention of Charles Philipon, who founded the magazine Caricature, and was hired as a satirical cartoonist for the magazine. He contributed many extremely harsh political cartoons, but one in which he likened King Louis Philippe to Gargantua offended the authorities, and he was imprisoned for six months. However, his fame skyrocketed, and he produced many masterpieces, including Rue des Transnonants. In 1935, when the law restricting the freedom of the press forced the closure of the magazine "Caricature," he also turned from political satire to social satire, mainly in the daily newspaper "Charivari," also founded by Philipon, where he ridiculed the bourgeoisie with ironic humor, or mocked the humble common people with a kindness that was akin to mercy. The February Revolution of 1948 seemed to have realized the dream of the republican Daumier. However, when Louis Napoleon began to gain power, he resumed political satire, and to attack this new enemy, he produced "Ratapoire," a lithograph and engraving that symbolized the Bonapartist faction. However, when Louis Napoleon came to power in December 1951, his political activities were forced to be suspended again.

He produced around 4,000 lithographs in his lifetime, but in recent years he has also been highly praised as an oil painter, producing works such as "The Washerwoman," "The Third Class Train," and "Don Quixote" that were based on memory and imagination, yet were realistic in expression and skillfully contrasted with light and dark. In his later years he became practically blind and struggled to make a living, but with the help of his great friend Corot, he was provided with a home in Balmondor, where he passed away on February 11, 1879. His frank and sharp observations and high spirituality made him a pioneer of realism, and he had a great influence on modern painters such as Degas and Lautrec.

[Tatsuji Omori]

"Daumier" by R. Rey, translated by Seiji Oshima (1969, Bijutsu Shuppansha) " "Daumier and His World" by R. Escolier, translated by Rei Koda (1980, Bijutsu Shuppansha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの画家、版画家。2月26日マルセイユに生まれる。1815年、ガラス工で詩人の父親がペンで身をたてようとパリに出たのをきっかけに、一家は翌年パリに移住。執達吏の給士や本屋の店員として苦労を重ねたのち、画家への道を歩み出す。やがて石版画の技法を習得、30年に『カリカチュール』誌を創刊したシャルル・フィリポンの注目するところとなり、同誌の風刺漫画家として雇われる。彼は数々の辛辣(しんらつ)きわまりない政治風刺画を寄稿したが、国王ルイ・フィリップをガルガンチュアに見立てた作品が官憲の忌諱(きき)に触れ、6か月の投獄の憂き目をみる。しかし彼の名声は一躍高まり、『トランスノナン街』など数々の名作を世に送り出した。35年、出版の自由を制限する法律により『カリカチュール』誌が廃刊に追い込まれると、彼もまた政治風刺から社会風刺に転じ、同じフィリポンの創刊になる日刊紙『シャリバリ』をおもな舞台に、皮肉なユーモアを込めてブルジョアジーを嘲笑(ちょうしょう)し、あるいは慈悲にも似た優しさでつつましい庶民をひやかしもした。48年の二月革命は共和主義者ドーミエの夢を実現させたかにみえた。しかしルイ・ナポレオンが支配力を伸ばし始めると、ふたたび政治風刺に着手、この新たな敵を攻撃すべく、石版画と彫刻とでボナパルト派を象徴する『ラタポワール』を制作した。しかし51年12月、ルイ・ナポレオンが権力を掌握すると、彼の政治活動は再度中止のやむなきに至った。

　彼は生涯に約4000点もの石版画を残したが、油彩画家としても近年高い評価を得ており、記憶と想像力によりながらも、リアリスティックな表現と明暗の巧みな対照によって『洗濯女』『三等列車』『ドン・キホーテ』などを描いた。晩年は盲目同然となり、生計にも苦しんだが、友情に厚いコローの援助でバルモンドアに住居を提供してもらい、79年2月11日、そこで生涯を閉じた。彼は率直鋭利な観察と高い精神性によって写実主義の先駆的地位を占め、ドガやロートレックら近代の画家に大きな影響を与えた。

［大森達次］

『R・レー著、大島清次訳『ドーミエ』（1969・美術出版社）』▽『R・エスコリエ著、幸田礼雅訳『ドーミエとその世界』（1980・美術出版社）』

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