Honoré Daumier, was a French caricaturist, painter, and sculptor and is most known for his political cartoons.

Daumier didn’t have much interest in school and wanted to learn art. He studied under Alexandre Lenoir, who studied the work of Rubens.

He started his art career at the age of 18. Coming from a family of painters, which he was heavily influenced.

He devoted his life to his work. From 1830 to 1847 he was a lithographer, cartoonist, and sculptor. Beginning in 1848 and lasting until 1871, he was an Impressionist painter. His cartoons were based on politics and society as well as portraits of celebrities at the time.

He created few sculptures compared to his illustrations. I made a series of small busts from clay. In the 20th century copies of these busts were cast in bronze. 

Daumier was the first of the Impressionists. He discovered new techniques and studied them before most Impressionist artists. He painted the figure in full light making them almost one with the atmosphere. Journals at this time were not interested in his work.

I was drawn toward Daumier’s work, specifically his cartoons because they have so much character to them.