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When the Devil Grew Old He Became a Hermit, plate 476

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

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

Date:

1835

Artist:

Honoré Victorin Daumier
French, 1808-1879

About this artwork

Carnivalesque humor and bodily deformation take an occult turn in this print, in which Louis Philippe and his ambassador to Great Britain, Charles de Talleyrand, are transformed into demonic friars. Daumier highlighted the hypocrisy of the regime through details such as the crucified figure of Liberty, the rosary made of coins, Talleyrand’s cloven hoof, and Louis Philippe’s hooked toenail. Yet Talleyrand’s feline familiar appears more domesticated than devilish, a sign of bourgeois respectability embedded in the fantastical.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Honoré-Victorin Daumier

Title

When the Devil Grew Old He Became a Hermit, plate 476

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.

1835

Medium

Lithograph in black on off-white wove paper

Dimensions

Image: 19.9 × 26.2 cm (7 7/8 × 10 3/8 in.); Sheet: 27.1 × 36.4 cm (10 11/16 × 14 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

John H. Wrenn Memorial Collection

Reference Number

1958.767

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/86410/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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