What Millet did for the life of the country, Honoré Daumier (1808-1879)
did for the life of the town, of which he was a shrewd and critical
observer. But his long practice as a caricaturist made him look upon
the types that engaged his brush with a certain cruel bitterness which
is far removed from Millet’s human sympathy. With a palette restricted
almost to black and grey, Daumier yet proved himself a great colourist
through the infallible accuracy of his tone-values and the suggestion
of rich colour in his almost monochrome schemes. His design is as
massive and monumental as Millet’s. The touch of the _macabre_, which
is so characteristic of Daumier’s art, is very evident in _The Thieves
and the Donkey_ (No. 2937). The _Portrait of the Painter Théodore
Rousseau_ (No. 2938) holds a hint of the caricaturist’s vision.