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“- Ah yes, those comets, they always predict great misfortunes. It doesn't surprise me at all that poor Madame Galuchet suddenly died last night,” plate 573 from Actualités

A work made of lithograph in black on white wove paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of lithograph in black on white wove paper.

Date:

October 30, 1858

Artist:

Honoré Victorin Daumier
French, 1808-1879

About this artwork

Daumier was frustrated throughout the 1850s by the censorship of Emperor Louis Napoleon, who took power in a swift coup d’état in 1851, forcing Daumier to turn to social rather than political topics for the second time in his career. An unusual event such as a comet’s arrival was likely a welcome subject. Daumier designed ten comet prints, then rapidly produced another ten when Parisians responded enthusiastically. Le Charivari, the comedic newspaper that published Daumier’s work, continued to print this second set after June 13 had come and gone, including this scene of women gossiping as a comet streaks behind them.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Honoré-Victorin Daumier

Title

“- Ah yes, those comets, they always predict great misfortunes. It doesn't surprise me at all that poor Madame Galuchet suddenly died last night,” plate 573 from Actualités

Place

France (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1858

Medium

Lithograph in black on white wove paper

Dimensions

Image: 20.4 × 25.1 cm (8 1/16 × 9 15/16 in.); Sheet: 27.5 × 35.8 cm (10 7/8 × 14 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of the Print and Drawing Club

Reference Number

1955.1172

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/84643/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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