Quand le crime ne donne pas 1848

"Quand le crime ne donne pas" (When Crime Doesn't Pay), an 1848 lithograph by Honoré Daumier, satirizes the French legal system. Daumier, known for his social commentary, depicts three lawyers, their faces obscured by shadows, engaged in a game of dominoes. The scene is both humorous and critical, suggesting that the justice system is more interested in leisure than in seeking truth and upholding justice. This lithograph exemplifies Daumier's powerful use of caricature and his biting wit to expose the hypocrisy and corruption of 19th-century French society.