After French censorship laws tightened in 1830, Daumier was obliged to shift the focus of his caricatures away from the rule of the unpopular King Louis Philippe. Instead he turned his attention to scenes of everyday Parisian life, often set on street corners. Artists and critics of the time praised Daumier for his skill as a draftsman, visible here in the subtle modeling and shadows used to construct an unlucky Parisian’s crumpled umbrella. Daumier further enhanced the atmospheric effects of the rainy scene by scratching lines of rain onto the printing block, rather than drawing them with a lithographic crayon.