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for Ratapoil et Casmajou from Actualités
Ratapoil et Casmajou from Actualités
Creator
Honoré Daumier
(French, 1808 - 1879)
Datec. 1850
Mediumlithograph on paper
DimensionsImage: 24.8 x 21.1 cm (9 3/4 x 8 5/16 in.)
Overall (sheet): 34.3 x 23.3 cm (13 1/2 x 9 3/16 in.)
Overall (sheet): 34.3 x 23.3 cm (13 1/2 x 9 3/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Robert Hunter, 1936
Category
- Prints
Object number2393
ProvenanceRatapoil is an imaginary character Daumier created. He stands for the political views of Napoleon III; he is a sly figure who would use any means – including violence – to bolster his political party. As a Bonapartist, Ratapoil is not to be trusted, and his profile and frame are meant to reveal his likeness to Louis-Napoleon. This fictitious figure is one of Daumier’s greatest inventions; Daumier even made a statuette of Ratapoil. When broken down, the name Ratapoil means rat and hairy or “Hairy Rat”. He sports a goatee and a long frock coat, and carries a cudgel. Casmajou, the other figure in Daumier’s lithograph, acts as Ratapoil’s sidekick, much like Bertrand is Robert Macaire’s accomplice. As partners in crime, Ratapoil and Casmajou are plotting some evil trick. Although the two figures stand in an unidentified space their presence is menacing.
LocationNot currently on display
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