Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00011314Singing Guitarist (recto)
About the Artwork
The first six-string guitars appeared simultaneously in Naples and Paris in the 1770s, and by the end of the 19th century the so-called Romantic guitar played a central role in the popular music of the French capital. Daumier’s drawing reflects this interest in street singers and carnival performers. The agitated, almost frenetic tangle of fine lines drawn in pen and ink imbues the figure with life, so that his voice and instrument seem to vibrate with emotion.
Inscriptions
signed, lower left, in black charcoal?: hD
Provenance
Lousada (not stamped, not in Lugt) (according to Maison 1968, p. 115, no. 340). Croal Thompson, Barbizon House (not stamped, not in Lugt) (according to Maison 1958, p. 349). T.O. Falk (not stamped, not in Lugt) (according to Maison 1968, p. 115, no. 340). Private Collection, Oxford (according to Maison 1968, p. 115, no. 340). [Hobart and Maclean]
Exhibition history
Daumier Drawings. Städel Museum (organizer) (November 17, 1992-January 17, 1993); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (February 26-May 2, 1993). Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Honoré Daumier (French, 1808–1879)
- Date
- 1855–60
- Medium
- pen and black ink over charcoal
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 33.9 x 21.5 cm (13 3/8 x 8 7/16 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Accession no.
- 1991.59.a
More by Honoré Daumier in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00011314
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