Ratapoil 1851

Honoré Daumier modeled Ratapoil in clay, sometime in the mid-19th century. The way that clay yields to the touch is palpable here. Notice the deep fissures and pock-marked surface, especially around the face, where Daumier dug in most fiercely. This wasn’t stone, requiring the careful removal of material. It was clay, which allowed him to add and subtract freely, building the figure with vigorous gestures. Ratapoil was conceived as a satirical figure, representing a Bonapartist agitator, a political operative, and an agent provocateur. The rough handling of the clay, the speed of its making, is entirely in keeping with the work’s critical spirit. It flies in the face of the polished, flattering sculptures that were typical of French officialdom at the time. Instead, Daumier’s choice of clay, and his process of modeling, lend the sculpture an air of directness, and even protest. Ultimately, Daumier reminds us that the meaning of an artwork resides not only in its subject, but in the very act of its making.