ticketsMember | Make a donation

A Man Reading in a Garden (recto); Preliminary sketch for a Man Reading in a Garden (verso)

ca. 1865
Not on view
After Daumier's death, this drawing came into the hands of the Paris art dealers Boussod & Valadon, where Vincent Van Gogh's brother, Theo, worked. Vincent seems to have recalled seeing it, writing to his brother on October 22, 1882:
"I remember very well being most impressed by a drawing of Daumier's: an old man under the chestnut trees in the Champs Elysées. . . . What impressed me so much at the time was something so stout and manly in Daumier's conception, something that made me think it must be good to think and to feel like that and to overlook or ignore a multitude of things and to concentrate on what makes us sit up and think and what touches us as human beings more directly and personally than meadows or clouds."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Man Reading in a Garden (recto); Preliminary sketch for a Man Reading in a Garden (verso)
  • Artist: Honoré Daumier (French, Marseilles 1808–1879 Valmondois)
  • Date: ca. 1865
  • Medium: Watercolor over black chalk, with pen and ink, brush and wash, and lithographic crayon.
    Verso: pen and brown ink, black gray wash, and lithographic crayon
  • Dimensions: 13 5/16 x 10 5/8 in. (33.8 x 27cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
  • Object Number: 29.100.199
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
The New Oedipus before the New Sphinx (Le nouvel Œdipe devant le nouveau Sphinx), from Actualités
Honoré Daumier
1851
Standing Figure of a Man with a Staff, Honoré Daumier French, Black chalk and graphite
Standing Figure of a Man with a Staff
Honoré Daumier
1825–79
Album Chaos Caricature de tout le monde
Honoré Daumier
Aubert et Cie
[1840]
La Mort de Sapho, from Histoire Ancienne, published in Le Charivari, January 4, 1843
Honoré Daumier
January 4, 1843
Rifolard ouvre le bal. . .
Honoré Daumier
November 21, 1848

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Showing 4 of 5

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.