Water Carrier (Le Porteur d'eau)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

This picture of a water carrier reflects Daumier's interest in depicting workers of Second Empire Paris engaged in their daily tasks. As a caricaturist, he conveys the man's movement through a dynamic and simple outline; as a sculptor, he enhances the figure's monumental quality and strength with a skillful play of light and shadow. The precise rendering of the subject's posture, with the left arm outstretched to balance the heavy bucket, indicates that Daumier likely drew the sketch while looking out his studio window at the Quai d'Anjou.

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