Nos saltimbanques

Honoré Daumier

National Gallery of Art

The image depicts a caricature featuring three full-bodied figures and one partial figure. There is a person on the left standing with arms crossed, a bald head with side hair, exaggerated eyebrows, a thick mustache and beard, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and pants. Next to this figure, another fully visible figure is lifting two smaller figures above their head. The lifter has bulging eyes, overemphasized features, and wears a striped garment, likely a vest and shorts. The two smaller figures being lifted have similar exaggerated facial features. The bottom figure, hoisted upside down, has short, curly hair and simple attire, while the topmost figure is also upside down, dressed similarly with visible facial expressions. In the background, there is a vague, indistinguishable shape and lightly drawn outlines, without specific context or setting details. The image also includes some French text at the bottom.