"Hey, little chicken, you've lost weight!" c. 19th century

Editor: This print by Honoré Daumier, titled "Hey, little chicken, you've lost weight!", presents a rather unflattering scene. What do you see in this piece beyond the surface level critique? Curator: The weight scale and the woman's placement center stage immediately signify the social commentary at play. But consider the cultural memory of body image. Daumier is using a loaded symbol, the scale, to reflect on shifting societal anxieties. What do scales represent to you in the modern context? Editor: I guess they symbolize expectations of health, beauty, maybe even moral worth. Curator: Precisely. Daumier taps into those anxieties, highlighting how public spaces like the Champs-Élysées become stages for judgment and spectacle. This caricature isn't just about weight; it’s about how we internalize these public perceptions. Food for thought, isn't it? Editor: Definitely. It’s interesting to see how timeless those anxieties really are.