Renouvele du serment des Horaces, from the series Les Actualités

This parody of French painter Jacques-Louis David’s famous painting The Oath of the Horatii is a satire on censorship of the press. Daumier depicts three politicians reaching forward to swear an oath on swords inscribed with “lois contre la presse” (laws against the press), “lois répressives” (repressive laws), and “lois exterminatives” (exterminative laws). The man proffering the swords is Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877), a former journalist who became a prominent politician.