Lithograph on vélin d'Arches paper. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered. Paper Size: 20 x 26 inches. Excellent condition. Notes: From the folio, Les Réalistes Lyriques, VIII, Collection Pierre Levy, 1973; published by Fernand Mourlot, Paris; printed by Mourlot Frères, Paris, November 23, 1973. Excerpted from the folio, This album, the eighth in a series dedicated to Mr. Pierre Lévy's collection, was printed in M examples on Arches vélin. Printing was completed on November 23, 1973 by Mourlot for reproductions of the paintings of the Les Réalistes Lyriques and by Fequet and Baudier for typography. Fernand Mourlot, Paris 1973. HONORE-VICTORIN DAUMIER (1808–1879) a French painter, sculptor and printmaker was born in Marseille. His work often commented on the social or political throughout his years. He earned a living by selling caricatures and cartoons of figures of the time and satire on their behavior. He was sent to jail for a few months when he published Gargantua. But he is mostly known as a serious artist. Daumier was a tireless and prolific artist and produced more than 100 sculptures, 500 paintings, 1000 drawings, 1000 wood engravings, and 4000 lithographs. The count of lithographs is large because Daumier studied with Charles Ramelet and worked with Zéphirin Belliard. It was a new, cheap art form and Daumier saw promise in it. In the late 1840s, Daumier began to focus and dedicate himself to painting. In time, he gained respect from his peers, Corot, Courbet, Delcroix, Millet and Rousseau who often admired Daumiers work. Around 1853 he traveled with Corot, Daubigny, Millet and Rosseau and by the late 1850s, he had reached new levels of artistic maturity. Daumier never seemed to make enough. Though he showed at the famous Salon, the frequency was not enough to sustain him, and after getting released from the paper he did cartoons for, it did give him lots of time to explore his painting. By 1863 he was selling his furniture to procure funds. In 1878, a group of his friends arranged a large exhibit and though it was not as good a financial success as they had hoped, it was a turning point for the recognition this artist deserved. He passed away in 1879.