Arrival in Alsace of the extraordinary commissioner, Coco Romieu - Honoré Daumier

A biting 1848 political lithograph by Honoré Daumier, satirising the arrival of a government commissioner in Alsace.

This lithograph by Honoré Daumier captures the political climate of mid-nineteenth-century France. Daumier, a prolific printmaker and caricaturist, produced this work for the satirical journal Le Charivari. The subject is Coco Romieu, a government official sent to Alsace during the turbulent period following the 1848 Revolution.

Daumier employs his characteristic style of exaggeration to mock the authority and pomposity of the state representative. Romieu is depicted with a disproportionately large head and a sharp, bird-like profile, standing atop a carriage. He holds a document labelled 'L'ère des Césars', a reference to the authoritarian political ambitions of the time. The surrounding figures, shown in a state of flight or agitation, suggest the public reception of such officials in the provinces. The loose, energetic line work is typical of Daumier's lithographic technique, which allowed him to translate his sketches directly onto the stone with immediacy and force.

As a social commentator, Daumier used these prints to critique the corruption and absurdity of the French political establishment. His work provides a visual record of the tensions between the central government in Paris and the regional populations. The print reflects the artist's ability to condense complex political narratives into a single, biting image. By focusing on the physical absurdity of the commissioner, Daumier strips away the veneer of official power, revealing the underlying fragility of the regime he depicts. This piece remains a primary example of the power of the printed image in the history of political satire.