Honoré Daumier

1810-1879

French (Europe, France)

The Parisian public admired Daumier as the newspaper caricaturist who so perceptively skewered their daily lives, but they never accepted him as a painter. Daumier died blind and a pauper without ever having received a painting commission. A glazier's son who moved to Paris at age eight, Daumier spent his time after apprentice jobs copying works in the Louvre. When a museum official persuaded his parents to allow him to become an artist, he began his artistic training, mastering the new medium of lithography. Daumier is known for his political and social satirical cartoons and caricatures criticizing the elite and political figures. He was even jailed for a few months after a particularly unflattering caricature of King Louis Philippe was published.