At Munich: After the Requisite Hour of Wagner! 1868

Curator: This print by Honoré Daumier, "At Munich: After the Requisite Hour of Wagner!," feels like a visual assault of musical notes upon a row of shell-shocked concertgoers. Editor: It's a riot, isn't it? The lithographic crayon just explodes off the page, chaotic energy against the rigid social expectations of a formal concert. Curator: Daumier, known for his social commentary, made this piece to critique the consumption of Wagner’s music, highlighting the physical and perhaps even mental toll on his audiences. The labor of listening, perhaps. Editor: I see it less as a critique of Wagner himself, and more about the absurdity of the cultural elite. They’re enduring something rather than enjoying it, these poor souls. Curator: The lithographic process allowed Daumier to quickly reproduce and disseminate his satirical observations about Parisian life and culture. Editor: Well, I'm glad that something so evocative could reach so many. I wonder what Daumier would make of our modern musical consumption habits.