Sheet of Studies with Two Large Men on the Ground 

Honoré Daumier created this sketch on paper in 19th century France as a study of form and composition. Daumier was a keen observer of French society, and his art often reflects the social and political climate of his time. He was particularly interested in the lives of the working class and the urban poor, who were largely excluded from the official narratives of French culture. One wonders if these figures on the ground might represent the peasantry, a class often depicted as toiling in fields rather than inhabiting gallery spaces. Or perhaps this is a comment on the new urbanized poor created by Haussmann's renovation of Paris, which displaced thousands of people from their homes and created new forms of poverty and social alienation. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context, and historians can use a variety of research resources, such as archives, newspapers, and other primary sources, to understand the complex relationships between art and society.