Nous ne nous serions jamais douté tout de même... 1870

Curator: Looking at this print titled, "Nous ne nous serions jamais douté tout de même…," created by Honoré Daumier in 1870, the style immediately strikes me as satirical. The work, a lithograph in ink on paper, embodies Daumier’s genius for caricature. Editor: Satirical for sure! My initial impression is that it’s deeply melancholic, despite the pointed humor I sense lurking. It is interesting how Daumier's use of harsh lines can make it feel simultaneously like a political statement and a personal lament. Curator: Exactly. The title translates to “We would never have suspected all the same…” which offers a clue. I see it as a commentary on disillusionment after the Franco-Prussian War. The two figures, presumably sailors or soldiers given their attire, are pointing up towards what appears to be a naval crest or banner. The visual and textual narratives, seemingly in disagreement, invites deep engagement. Editor: I like your read on this, I would probably agree. That crest looms large, doesn't it? Imposing a promise or ideal upon those ordinary sailors below. Almost as if it is an omen hovering right above them. The dream and the reality stand apart. It strikes me in the soul. Curator: And that separation, that gap between expectation and reality, is central to Daumier's social critique. The exaggerated features of the figures – the prominent noses, the weary eyes – hint at a world-weariness born from political and social upheaval. Note how realism merges here with exaggeration. Editor: Yes, the line work does everything in this image. It is beautiful how the coarseness renders each face, etching in the harshness of their lives and service. I wonder if, for Daumier, the only means of confronting this era was through intense character portrayal… as these ordinary and overlooked members of society confront historical turning points. Curator: I think you've touched on a central tension in Daumier's work. He elevates the ordinary, as you say, and imbues them with a profound sense of historical weight, precisely to undermine the self-importance of those in power. By inviting the viewers to reconsider the implications and circumstances. Editor: Considering it more fully, this feels profoundly relevant, even now. That lingering question mark over where, and in whom, we place our trust… Curator: Absolutely. A visual elegy. It gives the past an echo for our present. Editor: Beautiful, an elegy… and one hell of a story packed into a single, still frame.