Men Playing Cards and Smoking 1828

Curator: This is Nicolas Toussaint Charlet’s etching, Men Playing Cards and Smoking. It resides at the Harvard Art Museums. The scene is intimate and rather smoky, isn’t it? Editor: Indeed. There’s a density to it, achieved through very apparent marks. You can almost smell the cheap tobacco and spilled beer. I'm struck by the working-class aesthetic. Curator: Charlet often depicted scenes of everyday life, especially those of soldiers and the working class in post-revolutionary France. It reflects a shift towards valuing the experiences of ordinary people. Editor: And the roughness of the etching technique mirrors that reality. The emphasis on line and shade, without painterly finesse, brings a certain raw honesty. Are those figures drinking from stoneware jugs? Curator: Likely so. This image challenges established hierarchies, putting those who toil in the center of attention. Their labor, their leisure… Editor: It makes one consider what “labor” truly means in relation to art making and consumption. I appreciate how Charlet emphasizes the materiality of daily existence here. Curator: A moment of camaraderie amidst a life of hard work and potentially revolution. Editor: Precisely. It's not just a snapshot; it's a testament to process and the conditions of its making.