"Hey...there goes a man disgused as a woman!" 1848

Curator: This is a lithograph by Honoré Daumier entitled "Hey...there goes a man disguised as a woman!" It's currently held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: What strikes me is this whirlwind of fabric and judgment, a sort of visual shriek. Curator: Daumier was a master of social satire, and this image reflects the period's anxieties around gender and social performance. Editor: The man in the top hat seems so nonchalant, almost complicit, while the "woman" struggles against the wind. Curator: The inscription, of course, is key. It highlights the act of disguise and the male gaze dissecting it. Editor: Yes, but what is being revealed? Is it mockery, or a glimpse of something else entirely? Curator: It's a complex statement, reflecting both the humor and the underlying tensions of the time. Editor: A charged moment indeed, captured with such energetic lines and suggestive shadows.