Cleveland Museum of Art

Rue Transnonain, April 15, 1834

Honoré Daumier

Date

1834

Medium

lithograph

Culture

France, 19th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Although it supported the French middle class, the government of Louis-Philippe (1773–1850) oppressed workers. The rebellion of the silk weavers of Lyon, who toiled 18 hours a day for a pittance, touched off a sympathetic revolt in Paris. During the uprising, sniper fire directed toward government troops emanated from a house on the Rue Transnonain. In retaliation, the soldiers indiscriminately massacred residents, including old men, women, and children. In this haunting image, Daumier focused attention on the human suffering and loss of life, emphasizing the innocence of the victims and the violence of their deaths. Between 1830 and 1835 censorship laws had been suspended, allowing Charles Philipon (1806–1862) to publish a number of periodicals like L'Association Mensuelle , where Rue Transnonain appeared. Daumier, one of the most accomplished and prolific lithographers of the 19th century, often provided caricatures criticizing contemporary political abuses or satirizing French society. Although government censors approved publication of this print, they seized it upon its exhibition in a Parisian print shop.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.