In his youth, Daumier was apprentice to a court bailiff, an experience which left its mark, since lawyers inhabit an important place in his oeuvre. The barrister's shaking arm, pointing at a picture of the Divine Justice by Prudhon, his tense face and passionate gaze, are typical of Daumier's depictings of pleadings. The handling is used to great effect to accentuate the theatrical gestures. Working from the depth to the edges, Daumier rendered the twirling robes and the vehemence of the facial expression with a network of trembling lines.

Apprenticed to a bailiff in his youth, Daumier was exposed to the theatre of the court, an experience that evidently left its mark on the artist as lawyers inhabit an important place in his oeuvre. Here, the defendant in the dock stares at the barrister open-mouthed, as if amazed by the force of the lawyer’s rhetoric. Gripping the hand of his client, the lawyer fervently gestures with his free arm towards a sketchy but recognisable painting that hangs above the judges – Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursuing Crime by Pierre-Paul Prud’hon (1758–1823). Prud’hon’s painting was originally commissioned in 1804 for the criminal courtroom of the Palais de Justice in Paris but, upon the restoration of the monarchy, was removed and replaced with a Crucifixion, which also features in Daumier’s courtroom compositions. By the time Daumier first saw Prud’hon’s renowned secular tribute to justice, the painting was permanently exhibited in the Louvre. Like Daumier’s schematic depiction of the painting, the judges in the drawing are merely alluded to, efficiently drawn using swift but deliberate pen lines. Grey wash has been exclusively used in the foreground, defining the shadows and contours of the defendant, his lawyer, and the edge of the table that supports the array of papers suggestive of the careful preparation needed before each case. The wash reinforces the relationship between the two figures as the primary focus of the drawing. The handling is used to great effect to accentuate the theatrical gestures: the fluttering robes, the barrister’s shaking arm and his vehement facial expression are rendered with a network of trembling lines that reflect the energy and tension in the courtroom. In the grave face and passionate gaze of the lawyer we see Daumier’s depiction of a pleading at its best. [Entry from The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism, exh. cat., Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, 2019]

G. Lecomte; Georges Bernheim (Paris); purchased there by Percy Moore Turner of the Independent Gallery (London), 3 October 1928 (£350); purchased there by Samuel Courtauld, London (1876-1947), 23 October 1928 (£450); Courtauld Bequest 1948

The Courtauld Collection. A Vision for Impressionism, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, 20/02/2019-17/06/2019

Daumier (1808-1879): Visions of Paris, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 22/10/2013-26/01/2014

Special Display - French Drawings of the 19th century, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 08/02/2008-12/06/2008 ...More

Salmon, Dimitri, Percy Moore Turner, Précieux Conseiller de Samuel and Elizabeth Courtauld, Fondation Louis Vuitton 2019
pp. 33n151, 34n157, 36n165, no. 43 on p. 77
illus. no. 43 on p. 77

Serres, Karen (ed.), The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism, Paul Holberton Publishing 2019
no. 2, p. 100
illus. p. 101

Salmon, Dimitri, et al., Le Saint Joseph Charpentier de Georges de la Tour: un don au Louvre de Percy Moore Turner, Paris 2017
pp. 405, pp. 432n486 ...More

Watermark: none.

Inscription: Recto: lower right, graphite, signed with initials: “h.D.”. Verso: lower centre, graphite: “2a - 81”.

Collector's mark: none.