Daumier, Honore. BAISSER LE RIDEAU, LA FARCE EST JOUEE. Delteil 86. Lithograph, 1834. 8 1/8 x 11 inches; 204 x 280 mm., with wide margins. The penultimate state "sur blanc." A very good dark impression, in very good condition, except for a 1/4" spot or stain in the right margin, about 1/2" outside the edge of the image. From The Daumeier Register: This print shows a masterly interpretation of King Louis-Philippe dressed in the costume of a clown while the theatre curtain falls. With a sardonic smile he points at "Blind Justitia", thereby insinuating Justice to be a farce. At the same time, the parliamentarians, disappearing in the dark, are not living up to their responsibilities to protect the judicial system. The text on this print is a quote of the last words of Rabelais. When he died drunk, he said "Draw the curtain, the farce is ended". It is interesting to observe that the King was not to take a seat within Parliament but rather in a special box with a curtain towards the plenary. Between 1828 and 1832, Jules de Joly had architecturally redesigned the Chamber of the Palais Bourbon, the seat of Parliament, in a semi-circular form with upward sloping benches. The entire structure showed similarities to an ancient Roman theatre. Daumier frequently used the obvious parallel between politics and theatre in his drawings. Similar to the English division of power, also the French King was not allowed to enter the Parliamentary Chamber under the French constitution. He had to remain "outside" in the Salon du Roi, from where he was able to address the Deputies. The text on this print is a quote of the last words of RABELAIS. When he died drunk, he said "Draw the curtain, the farce is ended". We can assume that this print is referring to a debate of the ministers after the April 1834 riots where measures had been decided which should be taken against the opposition. Most likely, this print refers to one of the usual changes of ministries during the early part of the citizen King's reign. The clown (Pierrot) is the classical personification of traditional pantomime. LA CARICATURE. After the July-Revolution and the reinstatement of the Freedom of the Press, Charles Philipon (1800-1862) recognised the growing desire of the public for information. In 1830, he founded the political satirical illustrated paper LA CARICATURE, succeeding LA SILHOUETTE, which only had a shor
