Echtpaar gaat uit eten 1843

This lithograph by Paul Gavarni depicts a couple out for a stroll in Paris. Made in the mid-19th century, it captures the burgeoning culture of public leisure that was transforming the city. Gavarni's image provides a window into the social dynamics of the time. We see a formally dressed couple, a signifier of their bourgeois status. The city, depicted in the background, was undergoing massive urban renewal projects. These changes were not just aesthetic but also deeply social, creating new spaces for public life and new ways of seeing and being seen. The caption below the image hints at a marital squabble, adding a layer of social critique to the scene. Gavarni’s work, like that of his contemporary Daumier, can be read as a commentary on the changing social mores of the time. To truly understand this image, one might delve into the archives of Parisian social history, examining fashion trends, urban planning documents, and even popular literature. Art is always contingent on the social and institutional context that surrounds its making and reception.