“- Are you coming to announce victory?... hurry up and give me the details!....,” plate 77 from Actualités 1859

This lithograph is by Honoré Daumier, and part of his series Actualités, of which he made hundreds, all printed in multiples. Lithography is a printmaking process using a flat stone or metal plate on which the image areas are worked using a greasy substance so that the ink will adhere to them, while the non-image areas are made ink-repellent. Daumier was a master of this medium, creating a bold and satirical image with remarkable speed and efficiency. The inherent qualities of lithography, with its ability to capture fine lines and tonal variations, allowed Daumier to create a sense of immediacy, perfectly suited to the daily news cycle. The image's strong lines and shading, achieved through the greasy crayon on stone, emphasizes the figures' expressions and movements, underscoring Daumier's sharp social commentary. His prints were cheap, made in multiples for a mass audience – a pointed contrast to the unique, precious artworks favored by the elite he lampooned so brilliantly. This speaks to the increasing mechanization of image production during this time, the rise of the press, and Daumier’s own radical politics.