The Conqueror Menelaus, 1841
Honoré Daumierexpand_more
Lithographexpand_more
Gift of Mrs. Charles C. Bovey, 1924expand_more P.9,085
Not on Viewexpand_more
Daumier's Ancient History series satirized the classical instruction dispensed by the educational institutions in France and spoofed the ennobling characteristics supposedly bestowed by popular history paintings. Daumier's classical heroes do not possess ideal bodies or morals, but instead display all-too-human imperfections. The Conqueror Menelaus, the first print of the series, shows a pompous Menelaus strutting through a ruined battlefield while his "beautiful" wife Helen thumbs her nose at him behind his back.
Details
- Title
- The Conqueror Menelaus
- Artist Life
- 1808–1879
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- P.9,085
- Provenance
- Sarah Bernhardt, Paris (until d. 1923; her sale, part 2, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, July 23, 1923, part of 27 albums in no. 723). [Weyhe Gallery, New York, until 1924; sold 27 albums, for $600, to Bovey for MIA]; Mrs. Charles C. Bovey, Minneapolis (1924; gave 27 albums to MIA)
- Catalogue Raisonne
- L.D. 0925 iii/iii
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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