J'veux pas entrer dans tant d'eau ... c. 19th century

Honoré Daumier made this lithograph, “J'veux pas entrer dans tant d'eau ...”, using a printing process that was relatively new at the time. Lithography allowed artists to create images quickly and reproduce them on a mass scale. Daumier drew his images on a flat stone with a greasy crayon. The stone was then treated with chemicals so that the ink would only stick to the drawn areas. This process allowed for a wide range of tonal values and textures, evident in the subtle shading of the figures and the detailed rendering of the room. The resulting print captures a moment of domestic life with a raw, almost gritty quality. You can see the artist's hand in the sketch-like lines and the bold contrasts between light and shadow. This aesthetic aligned with Daumier’s social commentary, as he often depicted the lives of ordinary people with empathy and humor. He used the industrial medium of printmaking to bring his observations to a wider audience, blurring the lines between fine art and popular culture. Ultimately, understanding lithography helps us appreciate Daumier's ability to use a mechanical process to create deeply human and socially relevant art.