Un triomphe d'avocat c. 19th century

Honoré Daumier's lithograph presents us with a grotesque embrace, a 'triumph' where gratitude and self-interest intertwine. Here, the acquitted thief bestows a kiss upon his lawyer. The embrace, typically a symbol of familial love, is here perverted. It echoes the "Judas kiss," a symbol of betrayal masked by affection. This motif isn't confined to religious art; it reappears throughout history whenever trust is exploited. The 'triumph,' a motif from Roman antiquity, is subverted. Triumphs were grand public displays of military victory, but here, it's a private, morally dubious victory. The juxtaposition reveals the cyclical nature of societal values, where notions of honor are constantly renegotiated. The image evokes a primal ambivalence, a simultaneous repulsion and fascination with the darker aspects of human nature. The collective memory of such betrayals engages us on a subconscious level, as we recognize this unsettling distortion of trust. Such symbols, like water, inevitably resurface, adapting to their vessels, carrying forward echoes of past meanings.