Daumier, Henoré (1865-1866). Street Sideshow [chalk and watercolor on laid paper]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This is a work that communicates energy, motion and excitement very well. A free-flowing stylistic approach to both general and detailed elements supports the gestural nature of this work. I believe the strongest suit of this work is economy, and unity is achieved. | 


As will be explained, a near-perfect balance of realism and abstraction is used to create this semiabstract scene of two street performers. This balance, and the calibration of a handful of additional formal elements, inspire a sense of excitement and spectacle in the observer. This is created through a combination of chalk (shape and background) and watercolor (line), used freely and expressively. 

Line is used to create detail and convey motion; it is what builds value and hierarchy, the absence of which communicates subordinate areas in direct proportion to its use. Shape is treated in a mostly biomorphic format and expertly supports the energy created by the treatment of line. Color is probably a primary tetrad; red and blue are relatively pure, however red is shaded and blue is tinted. Yellow is what the background is based on and is largely diluted. A basic foreground/background format is intuitively created through overlap and diminishing detail. A consistent light source further supports the work’s sense of space.

Pictorial balance is static. Elemental density leans to the right half, yet is strongly counter-weighted by the lines of force created by the gestures of the figures and the calibration of the background. The color scheme, when purity is compared to surface area, is in near-perfect balance. Line is the vehicle that controls eye movement, from the elevated figure gesturing upward and outward down to the supporting figure directing energy into a more local and downward area.

This is truly a strong work that effectively uses the proper selection (or absence) and proportion of formal elements to create a sense of motion and excitement. Time is even implied in how the arms of the figures are created. The viewer is a spectator, watching the performance at an intimate yet respectable distance. One can almost hear the shouting and sounds of percussion.