Sappho's Death. “Young ladies, you see where love leads us Under our feet so dainty and small The wretched chasm of an abyss Into which we eventually fall,” plate 49 from Histoire Ancienne 1843

Honoré Daumier created this lithograph, “Sappho’s Death,” as plate 49 from Histoire Ancienne. The composition is dominated by a dramatic interplay of light and shadow, rendered through Daumier’s characteristically expressive lines. Sappho’s figure, draped in flowing garments, stands precariously on a cliff, a winged figure clutching at her. This contrasts with the abyss below, creating a sense of impending doom. Daumier uses line and form to destabilize the romantic ideal of Sappho. The stark lithographic medium and the dynamic, almost caricatured, figures challenge classical notions of beauty and heroism. It creates tension between the sublime, suggested by the implied narrative of tragic love, and the grotesque, evident in the exaggerated forms and stark contrasts. The tension between romanticism and realism underscores Daumier’s socio-political commentary, a theme running through his work. The visual structure serves as a semiotic device, critiquing the romantic myths perpetuated by the bourgeoisie. The tragedy of Sappho is not just a personal failing but a consequence of broader social and aesthetic structures.