If a picture is worth a thousand words, one drawn by Honoré Daumier is priceless. With just a few pencil strokes, this 19th century French caricaturist exposed society’s injustice and political corruption. Once praised by poet Charles Baudelaire as “one of the most important men, not only of caricature, but further of modern art,” Daumier remains far from forgotten. To mark his 200th birthday, the Bibliothèque nationale de France has set up two exhibits showing both Daumier’s evolution and his impact on the art world.

Born to a lower class family in Marseille and working his first job at a bailiff’s office, Daumier quickly developed a harsh contempt for bureaucrats and aristocrats. Published in the comic journal La Caricature and the illustrated newspaper Le Charivari, his first cartoons boasted cruel and unapologetic statements by poking fun of the social politics of his time. In 1832, a cartoon portraying Louis-Phillipe as Gargantua – scoffing the king as an incompetent oaf – cost Daumier six months in jail. Once released, he shifted his criticisms to Parisian life and society. As the years passed, no subject was considered too daring or too taboo. He indulged in satires of the upper class, the education system and the French government. Ahead of his time, Daumier even slipped in a few cartoons supporting the emancipation of women.

Yet even more important than his personal development is his remarkable influence on cartoonists over the past two centuries. “The Heirs of Daumier” at the Francois-Mitterand site shows the other half of Daumier’s career: his legacy. Here, a carefully selected handful of the artist’s more prominent drawings organized by subject are compared side-by-side with cartoons drawn by caricaturists influenced by his work. His long list of celebrated successors includes Cabu, an anti-militaristic cartoon artist famous for his character Mon Beauf, and Plantu, whose political satires daily grace the front page of Le Monde. Imbued with Daumier’s undeniable presence, these “heirs” have continued preserving the freedom of the press and daily entice us to reevaluate our current way of life.

The larger exhibit at the Richelieu site displays Daumier’s personal evolution through 220 of his drawings along a timeline of important dates and events: most notably dealing with the freedom of the press. The influence of Daumier’s background in painting and sculpture become increasingly evident. Choosing to work solely in black and white strips his sketches of any possible distraction, giving both the details and the statements made in his work a clear and powerful voice. Like a pill’s sugary coating, his unparalleled wit makes his bitter critiques easy, even pleasant, to swallow.

“Daumier”, Until June 8. 5€-7€.
Tuesday-Saturday (10am-7pm) Sunday (12pm-7pm).
Bibliothèque nationale, site Richelieu.
58, rue Richelieu,
Paris 2. M° Palais-Royal, Pyramides.

“Les Héritiers de Daumier”, Until May 4. Free.
Monday (2pm-8pm) Tuesday-Saturday (9am-8pm) Sunday (1pm-7pm).
Bibliothèque nationale, site François-Mitterand.
11, quai François Mauriac,
Paris 13. M° Bibliothèque.