Marseille, 1808 ; Valmondois, 1879

 
 
H. 34,5 cm ; l. 24,5 cm

 
M0536_79.6.4

 
En 1835, une censure stricte est rétablie et empêche Daumier de poursuivre ses caricatures politiques. Il s’intéresse alors à la satire sociale. Ses dessins, publiés dans "Le Charivari", transmettent un véritable panorama des mœurs et des travers de son siècle. S’il aime particulièrement représenter de bons bourgeois, il n’épargne aucune classe sociale : ici, il s’agit d’un couple de campagnards. L’homme, campé sur ses jambes, apparaît oisif et désagréable, à côté de sa femme qui ploie sous la charge. Au-delà de cette image se pose la question du partage des tâches entre les époux.

 
In 1835, strict censorship was reimposed and prevented Daumier from continuing to draw his cartoons based on political satire. He then took an interest in social satire. His drawings, ; which were published in "Le Charivari", deal with the full range of customs and faults of his century. Although he liked to portray “good bourgeois” people in particular, no social class was spared: here, the subject is a country-dwelling couple. The man, who is standing firm, looks idle and disagreeable beside his wife, who is weighed down by the load she is carrying. Beyond this image, the question of how tasks should be divided up between a couple arises.