The ox-elephant, a new and very promising breed...
1856
Combining political allegory with agricultural imagery, this satirical work showcases Daumier's inventive metaphorical thinking and his bold graphic style.
- Medium
- lithograph
- Location
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Spotted works by Honoré Daumier
Artists in conversation
James Gillray
British · b. 1756
Gillray was a master of political caricature who similarly combined animal imagery with sharp allegorical satire to lampoon public figures and institutions. His bold graphic approach and whimsical yet biting humor in printmaking closely mirrors the tone and technique of this Daumier lithograph.
Grandville
French · b. 1803
Grandville specialized in fantastical hybrid animal imagery used as political and social allegory, making him a direct parallel to this piece's inventive creature combining bovine and elephant forms for satirical commentary. His French monochrome lithographic caricatures share the same whimsical yet pointed graphic sensibility.
Thomas Nast
American · b. 1840
Nast was renowned for using animal symbols as powerful political metaphors in bold black and white graphic works, most famously establishing the elephant as a political symbol in American satire. His monochrome caricature style and inventive use of agricultural and animal imagery to critique political figures closely echoes this Daumier lithograph.
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