ÉNÉE AUX ENFERS. Horreur! il aperçoit la femme qui l'adore, Un poignard dans le cœur et les yeux pleins d'émoi; Qui d'un geste charmant que la pudeur décore, Lui dit: cher bien aimé, je me fiche de toi! (Eneïde trad. de M. Trognon.)
ÉNÉE AUX ENFERS. Horreur! il aperçoit la femme qui l'adore, Un poignard dans le cœur et les yeux pleins d'émoi; Qui d'un geste charmant que la pudeur décore, Lui dit: cher bien aimé, je me fiche de toi! (Eneïde trad. de M. Trognon.)
Title (alt.):
AENEAS IN THE UNDERWORLD. Horror! He sees the woman who loves him, A dagger in her heart and her eyes filled with emotion; . Who with charming gesture adorned with modesty, He says: dear beloved, I do not care about your devotion. (Aeneid trans. by. Mr. Trognon.). Charivari
Description:
Aeneas and Dido meet again in the underworld. He with shaky knees and she with the sword in her bosom. Daumier is most likely aiming at Berlioz' opera "The Trojans" which hasn't yet succeeded in bridging the gap between the classic romanticism and reality of the style of Offenbach. During the 1840's, a quarrel between painters of the classic and romantic schools had fully flared up. Delacroix asked the "loaded" question: "Who is going to liberate us from the old Greeks?" Daumier succeeded to answer it his own way by showing historic personalities such as Hercules, Pygmalion or Agamemnon in absurd situations.
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, July 15, 1842.
Notes (acquisition):
Donated by: Benjamin A. and Julia M. Trustman, 1959.
