Ayant eu la facheuse idée d'aller... en mer 1852

Editor: Here we have Honoré Daumier's lithograph from 1852, "Ayant eu la facheuse idee d'aller... en mer," or, "Having had the unfortunate idea of going to sea." It depicts a boat full of seasick passengers. The overall feel is chaotic, but also strangely humorous given the caricatured figures. What do you see when you look at this print? Curator: My eye is drawn immediately to the stark contrasts in tone. Daumier masterfully uses hatching and cross-hatching to define form and create depth. Notice how the light catches the sails, drawing our attention upwards, before cascading down the scene of the passengers suffering the ill effects of their voyage. The composition is almost theatrical. Editor: The body language of the figures is striking, too. All bent over! How does that contribute to the meaning? Curator: Indeed. The artist utilizes a sort of visual rhyming, with the curvature of the figures mirroring the implied swell of the ocean. Consider also the way Daumier uses line weight – thicker, darker lines define the foreground figures, emphasizing their distress and pulling them into our space. The overall effect amplifies the sense of disarray. What do you notice about the scale of the figures themselves? Editor: They seem slightly disproportionate. Elongated torsos and tiny legs add to the sense of instability, as though their bodies themselves are struggling to cope with the rocking boat. I also noticed how the foreground contrasts the background where a couple of ships are sailing, appearing stable and small far away. Curator: Precisely. And that juxtaposition really reinforces the satire. Through formal elements, Daumier distills a keen observation about human experience. Editor: That’s a great insight. I didn’t fully appreciate the calculated nature of the apparent chaos before. Curator: Visual analysis is really a form of careful reading. We simply translate visual cues into articulate thought.