Daumier was most famous as a printmaker, publishing thousands of political and social caricatures in the leading satirical journals of Paris. He never exhibited his paintings, and it was not until after his death that these works, with their bold and very personal style, came to be widely appreciated. In both paintings and lithographs, Daumier had the ability to condense a wealth of meaning into a few simple and evocative forms. Here, the dark bulk of the lawyer is silhouetted against a blurred and empty flight of stairs, leaving the viewer to imagine the source of his evident self-satisfaction and the hectic activity of the court beyond.

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