"See how they've taken down my walls along with the chimney flues...they should never let renters make fires!" 1848

Curator: This lithograph by Honoré Daumier, titled "See how they've taken down my walls along with the chimney flues...they should never let renters make fires!", presents a seemingly simple landlord-tenant dispute. Editor: It definitely has a satirical feel. What strikes me is the stark contrast between the landlord's outrage and the evident, almost comical, state of disrepair. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Daumier critiques not just landlords, but the socio-economic structures of 19th-century France. Consider the power dynamic: the landlord, likely bourgeois, decrying the damage caused by those renting from him, probably working-class individuals just trying to survive. Editor: So, it's less about the literal damage and more about the inherent inequalities? Curator: Precisely. Daumier uses humor to expose those inequalities, inviting us to question who truly holds power and at whose expense. Editor: I see it now. It is so much more than a dispute. Thank you.