These are the joys of horseback racing, plate 411 from Actualités 1857

Curator: Okay, let’s talk about Honoré Daumier's print, from 1857. It's called "These are the joys of horseback racing, plate 411 from Actualités," now residing here at The Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: Wow, immediate first impression—it feels... sardonic. Like he’s watching some strange, ritualistic dance with an arched eyebrow. Is that what "Actualités" implies—daily life through a slightly jaded lens? Curator: Precisely. Daumier was a master of social commentary, using lithography to dissect Parisian life for a popular audience. He captures these avid spectators—a cross-section of society, straining, leaning, practically contorting themselves to catch a glimpse of the race. Editor: I see it! There's the overdressed elite practically falling out of their carriages, right alongside more humble figures trudging wearily on foot. The way the artist renders them, those frantic lines... they look almost desperate for fleeting moments of pleasure. But what of the dead horse at the foreground of the image? Curator: Daumier is alluding to the dangers, the sheer indifference and recklessness toward those involved. These figures are simply casualties in this theatre of social excitement, anonymous, reduced to mere blots of ink on the race course. A counterpoint to the "joys" referenced ironically in the work’s title. Editor: So it's not really about the race at all. It's about what that race reveals about the people watching. It also looks as if some riders did not survive! It makes me wonder if the crowd in the back sees a big race at all, as they are so far, and it seems they only see a dust cloud. Curator: I think that you’re absolutely right: Daumier's genius lies in elevating these fleeting everyday moments. The material used enhances its satirical bite – the grainy lithograph almost feels like a newsprint capturing a fleeting instant, amplifying its immediacy. The sketchiness adds to the frenzy. Editor: The dark tonality feels very appropriate to its social critique; it is almost as though the drawing would gain a completely different impact if another tone of color had been chosen instead! I really got my perspective widened. Curator: Wonderful, glad to know it, then let's delve into other pieces.