Le MEMBRE DE TOUTES LES ACADÉMIES. Diable de discours; impossible de retenir..... ah! j'y suis, Messieurs, c'est avec émotion que je viens donner à l'Europe des preuves d'un savoir....... qui pourrait être plus étendu.... mais si je n'en sais pas davantage c'est par modestie! La séance d'aujourd'hui sera consacrée aux bouchons de liège..... cette question si futile au point de vue ordinaire; et si intéressante pour l'humanité; nous examinerons ensuite l'influence des pains à cacheter sur la littérature..... j'aurai ensuite l'honneur de vous faire entendre un rapport lumineux sur les allumettes chimiques (Séance du 20 Janvier 1842).
Le MEMBRE DE TOUTES LES ACADÉMIES. Diable de discours; impossible de retenir..... ah! j'y suis, Messieurs, c'est avec émotion que je viens donner à l'Europe des preuves d'un savoir....... qui pourrait être plus étendu.... mais si je n'en sais pas davantage c'est par modestie! La séance d'aujourd'hui sera consacrée aux bouchons de liège..... cette question si futile au point de vue ordinaire; et si intéressante pour l'humanité; nous examinerons ensuite l'influence des pains à cacheter sur la littérature..... j'aurai ensuite l'honneur de vous faire entendre un rapport lumineux sur les allumettes chimiques (Séance du 20 Janvier 1842).
Title (alt.):
A MEMBER OF ALL ACADEMIES. Blasted speech; impossible to remember..... ah! there we are, Gentlemen, it is with great emotion that I am able to present Europe the findings of knowledge....... that could be more extensive... but I do not know much about it out of modesty!Today's session will be dedicated to corks..... while from an ordinary point of view this may seem like a futile topic; and so interesting to humanity; we then examine the influence of wafers on literature..... finally I will have the honor presenting to you an illuminated report on chemical matches (Session of January 20, 1842).. Charivari
Description:
A man is preparing a speech. Daumier is satirizing those who claim to be members of an academy.This series shows the readiness to engage in risky enterprises, the dream of easy money, and the greedy hope for immediate fulfilment of all wishes without responsible involvement. Daumier denudes the ruthless materialistic attitude of his time. At the same time the series shows the bizarre of these outcasts of civilization, expertly drawn and described by Daumier. We follow the debris of all classes and ranks: the man of letters to the clipper of dogs, the old business man and the political refugee, the Chief Administrator of the Empire and the used clothes merchant. It is this mixture of diversity, hope, despair and chance which makes this series so real and meaningful even by today's standards. While shocking and sometimes even repulsive these prints leave the attentive spectator with a feeling of sorrow and sadness but at the same time with awe about the ingenuity of fellowmen in distress, hoping to pull themselves out of their misery - sometimes the Munchhausian way.
Copyright restrictions may apply. For permission to copy or use this image, contact the Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department, Brandeis University Libraries. The following credit line must be included with each item used: Benjamin A. and Julia M. Trustman Collection of Honoré Daumier Lithographs, Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis University.
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Place of origin:
Paris
Notes:
3rd state.
Published in: Le Charivari, March 6, 1842.
Notes (acquisition):
Donated by: Benjamin A. and Julia M. Trustman, 1959.
