Les bourgeois ... c. 19th century

Editor: Here we have Honoré Daumier’s lithograph, "Les bourgeois...", created sometime in the 19th century. It's a pretty harsh image – everyone looks so disgruntled. What's your take on it? Curator: As a lithograph, this work is fascinating because of its reproductive nature. Think about Daumier, engaging in the mass production of images. He's not creating a unique, precious object, but a commentary accessible to many. The very process of creating and disseminating such images speaks to the social commentary embedded within the work. Note also the title, implying a pointed statement about class relations. Editor: That's interesting! I was so focused on the scowling faces, I missed that. So the medium is part of the message? Curator: Precisely! Daumier is using a relatively new technology to distribute his critiques. Consider the labor involved in both butchering meat and creating a lithograph like this. How do those modes of production inform our understanding of "value" in this context? Also, think of Romanticism style influences in caricature work. How this connects with materiality and consumption during this period? Editor: The lithograph’s ability to be mass-produced challenges the traditional value placed on unique art objects...and is he questioning who gets access to art, and to meat? Curator: Exactly! And how readily were prints available for consumption by different strata of society at the time? These lines and the reproduction enabled wider accessibility of critique of wealth and societal roles. It moves art beyond the realm of unique treasures, making it an object for debate and discussion within society. Editor: Wow, I hadn't considered it that way. Seeing the work as a product of its time, a critique of labor and accessibility... it really changes the way I view it. Curator: Indeed! It reminds us to always question not just what the image depicts, but also how and why it was made, distributed and ultimately consumed.