On avait... joliment graissé le mât 1869

"On avait... joliment graissé le mât," a political cartoon by Honoré Daumier, created in 1869, satirizes the French political climate of the time. The image shows a figure climbing a greased pole, representing the challenges of achieving political goals, specifically "Liberté" and "Suffrage Universel," written on the pole. The crowd below, cheering on the climber, symbolizes the public's desire for progress, while the slippery pole represents the corruption and manipulation that hinder it. This lithograph is a powerful example of Daumier's use of caricature to expose the injustices and hypocrisies of his time.