Alexandre Lecomte, Magistrate 1833

Honoré Daumier sculpted this painted clay bust of Alexandre Lecomte, a French magistrate, at an unknown date. Daumier was well-known for his caricatures of political figures, and these sculptures, only cast in bronze after his death, can be seen as a three-dimensional extension of that work. The exaggerated features of the magistrate, the focus on his jowls and stern expression, speak to a critical view of the French legal system under the July Monarchy and the Second Empire. Daumier was famously imprisoned for his unflattering depictions of King Louis-Philippe, and throughout his career, he would often be at odds with the French establishment. Historical records, like court documents and political cartoons of the era, help us understand Daumier’s perspective and the social commentary embedded in this compelling sculpture. The meaning of art like this is always shaped by the society in which it's made.