Hunters that are Too Polite 1854

Curator: Honoré Daumier, that great observer of Parisian society, created this print, "Hunters That Are Too Polite." Editor: I'm immediately struck by how stiff and awkward everyone looks. It’s like they’re caught in a very unnatural hunting tableau. Curator: Daumier used lithography, a printmaking technique perfect for capturing the nuances of social satire. The image was originally published in "Le Charivari," a popular satirical journal. Consider the means of production and the target audience: mass consumption. Editor: There's a palpable tension, almost comical, in the exaggerated politeness of the hunters. It makes you wonder what they're really thinking. Perhaps what's behind the need to follow social conventions so strictly. Curator: I agree. Daumier shrewdly uses caricature to critique the bourgeoisie of his time. Their obsession with etiquette becomes absurd in the context of a hunt, which is traditionally a rougher, more primal activity. Editor: It's a playful reminder that sometimes the performance of being proper can overshadow the real purpose of the encounter. Art can be a mirror reflecting our own societal foibles.