Karikatuur van zes teruggekeerde emigranten op een kreeft

The artwork Karikatuur van zes teruggekeerde emigranten op een kreeft, created by Eugène Delacroix in 1822, is a remarkable example of satirical drawing from the early Romantic period in France. This dynamic work, executed on paper, utilizes the medium for pointed social and political commentary, offering a contrast to Delacroix's more formal oil paintings. The composition depicts six figures, identified in the title as "returned emigrants," awkwardly balanced and struggling to navigate atop an immense, highly detailed lobster.

The subject matter speaks directly to the turbulent political climate of post-Napoleonic France, specifically the era of the Bourbon Restoration. The "emigrants" were often Royalist nobles who had fled the country during the Revolution and returned after 1815, frequently facing ridicule and suspicion from the general populace. Delacroix employs the grotesque and the absurd—the surreal transportation device of the giant crustacean—to satirize the instability, outdated ideologies, or perceived arrogance of these returning elites.

Though famed for his large-scale history paintings, Delacroix participated keenly in the popular tradition of caricature, which flourished across Europe in the 1820s. This piece confirms his versatility and his eye for contemporary social dynamics. The work is preserved as part of the extensive collection of the Rijksmuseum. Given its medium and its age, this powerful 19th-century commentary is often considered a key reference point for scholars studying French political prints, and images of the piece are frequently available in the public domain for reference and study.