Man ziet zijn eigen beeltenis in de Galerie Physionomique after 1837

This hand-colored lithograph, titled 'Man ziet zijn eigen beeltenis in de Galerie Physionomique', was created in 1832 by an anonymous artist. It offers a sharp commentary on the rise of celebrity and the emergent culture of mass media in 19th-century Europe. The image depicts a bourgeois man engrossed in a newspaper, wherein he discovers a caricature resembling himself. The humor lies in the self-awareness, or perhaps lack thereof, of the subject. The artwork engages with the growing phenomenon of the "physiognomic gallery," a popular trend that used pseudo-scientific methods to link physical appearances with character traits, often with satirical intent. As an art historian, to fully understand this lithograph, I'd delve into the history of French print culture, exploring the rise of satirical journals and the social function of caricature. Through such research, we can better understand the complex interplay between art, identity, and public perception in 19th-century society.