“- Say then, Madme. Giboulard … don't you agree that it is not very pleasant for women of our gender, to come down like this everyday, cleaning the gutters of St. Honoré … - That's true, Madame Chaffarou, but we can also praise ourselves of being the only ones to embellish Paris!,” plate 75 from Caricatures Du Jour 1843

This lithograph, printed on paper, was made by Honoré Daumier as part of his series “Caricatures Du Jour.” The image shows two female street sweepers in conversation. You can almost feel the roughness of the stone, the bristle of their tools, and the coarseness of their clothing, all rendered through the lithographic process. Daumier excelled at this technique, which uses the inherent property of oil and water not to mix, to transfer an image from stone to paper. Look closely at the image; you will see a focus on the labor involved in keeping the city clean, and hints of social stratification. We see the sweepers engaged in thankless work, and the artist's choice of lithography, a relatively quick and repeatable process, democratized the image, and created a commentary on social disparities that may have resonated with a wide audience. The artwork makes us consider the relationship between labor, representation, and the artist's role in capturing everyday life.