Le Voyage en chemin de fer... 1848

"Le Voyage en chemin de fer..." is a lithograph by Honoré Daumier, created in 1848. The satirical image depicts a group of weary passengers asleep on a train, highlighting the exhaustion and tedium of travel in 19th-century France. The stark lines and hatching of Daumier's characteristic style capture the cramped space and the languid postures of the figures. The window view provides a fleeting glimpse of the passing landscape, adding to the sense of movement and the passengers' disconnect from their surroundings. Daumier's social commentary often focused on the absurdities of modern life, and this lithograph satirizes the discomfort and monotony of train travel, a new and rapidly evolving form of transportation.