Realism: Phoebe Ng talks on Daumier's Third Class Carriage, 1862.

Artist: Honore Daumier

Title: The Third Class Carriage

Year: 1862-1864

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 65.4 x 90.2 cm

The Third Class Carriage was finished by Honoré Daumier between 1862-1864. Daumier was a French Realist painter, caricaturist and sculptor, who mostly depicted the political and social life in France in the 19 century. In this painting, Daumier captured the plight of a poor family in a third class carriage. He also used the satire on the social problems produced by Industrial Revolution. In this essay, I will focus on the painting’s historical background at the first part. At the second part, I will explain how the painting fit into the Realism movement.

Created in the 19^th century, the painting fit into the French society under industrialization in many aspects. Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, which took place in England but soon spread to Europe and America. 

Transportation industry was one of the most significant changes, especially the invention of railroad, which connected people to different places within a short period of time. Being such a distinctive feature of industrialization, railroad was often the topic of Daumier’s paintings. The author of the book on Daumier, Dr. Sarah Symmons examined his artwork and categorized it under different headings including  “Railways and omnibuses”, showing railroad as an emerging industry at that time. (Walker, 2005) In the painting, Daumier depicted a lot of passengers sitting in a cramped third class carriage, suggesting there was a huge demand on transportation in Paris at that time.

The painting also revealed many social problems in the 19^th century France. Factories were built mainly in big cities. Urbanization made lots of people moving from villages to big cities for jobs. The people in the painting looked like the ones who only depended on their physical skills, probably peasants or hand crafters. (Angel, 2010) Perhaps they were travelling to cities for jobs. The mechanization of agriculture and manufacturing caused by Industrial Revolution were probably responsible for that. Perhaps they were no longer hired since they would be replaced by machine. It fit into the French society, where craftsman was replaced by machine and crafts became manufactured goods. (Adams, 2002)

Apart from urbanization, the painting also suggested some problems such as poverty and overcrowding, which fit into the 19^th century France. The family’s clothing and the environment gave a sense of dirtiness and coarseness, showing that they were very poor. In addition, a lot of passengers crowded together in a small carriage, which suggested that there was a serious overcrowding issue. In fact, Paris was unable to satisfy the flow of arriving workers from the rural areas, causing inadequate space, overcrowded hosing and unsanitary environment. Paris working class was having a poor living condition and facing many difficulties.

On the other hand, French social hierarchy was also revealed by the separation of carriages. In the painting, the passengers were the working classes who were in the bottom of the society. Apart from this painting, Daumier also created another two paintings, which were The First Class Carriage and The Second Class Carriage with the depiction of upper classes and better environment of the carriages. In fact, modernization improved the living standard of Parisians, but also widened the wealth gap. While owners became rich from industrialization, many workers were exploited. The class division between upper class and lower class were polarized. (Adams, 2002)

To make a short conclusion, this painting was a microcosm of the lower class in 19^th century France. It revealed the various social problems that brought by industrialization.

The painting was regarded as a Realism painting. The Realism movement was centered in France in the mid 19^th century. It appeared as an opposition to Neo-classicism and Romanticism, which focused on the objective depiction of the real world without idealization and often communicated a political and social satire. The painting could fit into Realism in many aspects.

Firstly, an important feature of Realism was the “typicalness” of the subject matter. It was not random or arbitrary, but reflected in the choice of representative lower class in the society. (Wu, 2008) The subject matter of Realism painting was ordinary people, who usually were workers or peasants. It was completely different with the depiction of legends and heroes in Romanticism. In The Third Class Carriage, an ordinary and underprivileged family was taking a ride. It provided the viewer a sense of unimportance since it was just anonymous lower class people doing everyday life activity with ordinary surroundings. Although these were just ordinary people and things, they were the most representative people, event and environment to reflect the injustice of French society at the modernization period. Their artistic images were the “summarization and crystallization of real life”. (Wu, 2008) Although they were just an infant, a child, a mother and a grandmother, it showed the completion of life cycle of all stages. From the absence of a male adult, it was suggested that the women were living on their owns and having a hard time.

Secondly, Realism also emphasized “objectivity and truthfulness.” Realism suggested that the subjects should be represented in a truthful and objective manner without any idealization. It aimed to depict the real world whether the subjects were beautiful or ugly, noble or vulgar. (Tuffelli, 2004) Being a member of the working class, Daumier clearly knew what did the society look like as he experienced it everyday. In the painting, he spoke the invisible truth about the real life in France during modernization. The rebuilding policy Haussmannization turned Paris into a modern metropolis, but high price was paid for this huge transformation. The lower class citizens obviously did not enjoy the development. The weariness on the old lady’s face, her old, dirty clothing and the cramped environment brutally revealed the truth. There was no room for luxury and leisure in this painting. A French art critic, Arsène Alexandre held the view that the painting represented “a comprehensive summary of human life, with all its miseries and blemishes, thwarted joys and excruciating trials that force one to a fatalistic resignation”, which “was a universal image of poverty during industrialization”. (National Gallery of Canada, 1999) It was very thought provoking since it showed that modernization did not better life for everyone, but disfranchised some people socially and economically. (Angel, 2010)

This truthful representation of reality was achieved by Daumier’s thick and evident brushstroke. The marks of the brushstroke were visible such as the black color used to depict the somber carriage and the worn clothing. Black lines were used to outline the contours of the people, especially the face and the hands of the old lady. Although it seemed rough and unfinished while compared to the invisible and smooth one in Romanticism, this vigorous style communicated a sense of “naturalness” to the viewers as well as to describe the “fluctuating tide of humanity.” (Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 1947)

In addition, the down-to-earth color also helped achieve the truthfulness. In Baroque and Rococo style, the artists tended to use bright colors to make the paintings beautiful and dynamic. In contrast, a somber color palette liked black and brown were more tended to use in The Third Class Carriage. The sienna wall and roof of the carriage created a sense of dullness. The benches and the clothes were shadowed, suggesting that they were worn and faded. All these things created a monotonous environment. As the author of Daumier The Painter, Scharf said, “ The sun never shines in Daumier’s painting.” Even there was a light illuminating the family, the atmosphere was still melancholic because of the suffering and weariness that expressed in their faces. (Angel, 2010) To depict the dim environment, the use of dark color was very natural and appropriate. Moreover, since dark color was always associated with negative feeling, it helped reflect the emotion and psychology of the figures.  

Moreover, “naturalness” can be achieved by the gesture of the figures. In the painting, the people were not staged and posted. They did not look at the viewer as if they did not recognize that they were being observed. (Angel, 2010) Some of them even turn away and opposite to the viewers. It was like Daumier just captured the immediate activities of the people. He also showed his skillful technique when he gave a deep sympathetic insight to the figures. An accumulated experience of suffering was expressed in the old lady’s heavy lidded eyes. Her sight was absorbed in thought. Perhaps she was thinking about the poor old days. Perhaps she was worrying about the future they were heading. Next to her was a boy sleeping with relaxation. Perhaps he was having the boldest dream that he would not dare to have when he was awake. (Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 1947) Placing the family opposite to the viewers, they faced away from the passengers at the back, which emphasized the isolation from the society. Camille Pelletan commented that in this painting, Daumier “creates a masterpiece: all the figures are true, alive, imbued with personality and an incredible accuracy of movement, in striking relief.” In addition, a contemporary artist and critic, Emile Bernard, marked “when the others only painted the clothing, Daumier entered the soul”. (Gwin, 2000) Being given the most complex psychology, they were no longer “figures” but real people in real life.

Thirdly, “contemporaneity” was another characteristic of Realism. The Realist held the view that the contemporary world was the only valid subject of the contemporary artists. (Nochlin, 1990) For example, Courbet wrote that: “ I hold the artists of one century basically incapable of reproducing the aspect of a past or future century…The history of an era is finished with that era itself and with those of its representatives who have expressed it.” (Nochlin, 1990) In the painting, Daumier captured the plight of lower class people in the third class carriage as he experienced it, which only belonged to the mid 19^th century in France. The family was the witness of the contemporary world. The environment only reflected that certain period of time-the industrial age. Daumier was not depicting the historical events or the future world but the contemporary world. 

Fourthly, “criticalness” was also an important feature of Realism paintings, which often commented on the social issues and criticized the darkness of the contemporary society. In the book Art Across Time, Laurie Schneider Adams stated that “ the style that best corresponded to the new social awareness was Realism…The primary concerns of the realist movement were direct observation of society and nature, and political and social satire.” In the painting, Daumier used the social satire on the problems brought by Industrial Revolution by depicting the self-control and tolerance of the passengers even when they were cramped in a coarse carriage. (Wu, 2008) He criticized the inequality in the society and showed his sympathy to the lower class people.

In my opinion, I think this work was very significant since it revealed the social problems and provoked people’s sympathy and awareness for the poor. Although it might not bring huge changes to the social issues, it was admirable to have an intention to speak for the poor and criticize the injustice. It was also a brave act for Daumier to paint this after all the imprisonment and censorship. Compared to Neo-classism and Romanticism, Realism may lack advanced skills and sense of beauty, but it pursues a social factualness and emotional truthfulness. Arts in this sense are no long rich people’s decorations, but a reflection of the real world. This is very evocative and important because it is much closer to human beings and human life, which is something that people can reach and relate to. It does not only praise the good things in life, but also reveals the hardships and that what “real life” is.

To conclude, The Third Class Carriage fit in the Realism movement in various aspects, regarding its typicalness, objectivity and truthfulness, contemporaneity and criticalness. The painting was also an epitome of the French society in the mid 19^th century, which revealed the naked truth of the problems of industrialization.  

Bibliography

Books

Tuffelli, Nicole. 19th Century French Art. Edinburge: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004.

Nochlin, Linda. Realism. London: Penguin Books, 1990.

Adams, Laurie Schneider. Act Across Time. Boston: McGraw Hill College, 2002.

Ma, Fenglin. Realism-summer and winter with the rise and fall of political art. Hubei: Hubei Fine Arts Publishing House, 2005.

National Gallery of Canada. Daumier 1808-1879. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1999.

Journals

Walker, J. A. "Book and Catalogues in Brief." The Art Book 12 (2005): 57-58.

H, A. F. "Book Review of Daumier. Third Class Railway Carriage by S. L. Faison." Journal of the Royal Society, 1947: 473.

Gwin, Peter. "Honore Daumier." Art & Leisure, 2000: 47.

Wu, Xiaowei. "The heaviness behind the ordinary-Appreciation of Daumier's the Third Class Carriage." China Culture, 2008: 11.

Websites

Angel, A. D. Daumier's Third Class Carriage. 6 26, 2010. http://anabobana14.blogspot.tw/2010/06/daumiers-third-class-carriage.html (accessed 4 5, 1015).

Hogarty, S. B. FRAME WORK: Third Class Carriage by Honore Daumier. 5 25, 2011. http://legionofhonor.famsf.org/blog/framework-third-class-carriage-honor-daumier (accessed 4 5, 2015).

Artble. The Third Class Carriage Analysis. http://www.artble.com/artists/honore_daumier/paintings/the_third-class_carriage/more_information/analysis (accessed 4 5, 2015).

Staff from History.com. Industrial Revolution. 2009. http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution (accessed 4 5, 2015).