Soldaat van de Nationale Garde patrouilleert door de regen 1842

Honoré Daumier's lithograph captures a soldier of the National Guard trudging through the rain. The rhythmic lines that create the downpour dominate the composition. This repetition and pattern almost abstracts the figure within the environment, emphasizing the soldier’s weary state. Daumier uses line and form to convey a sense of the absurd. Note how the severe diagonal lines carve through the scene and reflect the soldier’s internal state. The lack of tonal variation, with the stark contrast between the black lines and the white paper, flattens the image, undermining any illusion of depth. This flattening can be seen as Daumier’s way of destabilizing the romanticized image of military service. The formal qualities serve to unmask the reality of mundane, uncomfortable duty, highlighting the gap between the ideal and the real. This challenges traditional values of heroism, prompting us to question established meanings.