Occupation des représentans ... c. 19th century

This lithograph was made in France in 1849 by Honoré Daumier. It depicts two scenes of the French Assembly, one of politicians huddling together, the other of a politician falling from the podium while giving a speech. Daumier made his name creating satirical caricatures of French politics and society for the illustrated press. Here, he skewers the Assembly, making them seem ridiculous. The top panel, titled “Physiognomy of the Assembly,” shows politicians as indistinct, preoccupied. In the bottom panel, the speaker Lagrange, falls backwards in an apparent fit of passionate oratory, while the other members look on with expressions ranging from concern to boredom. We might see this lithograph as a reaction to the 1848 revolution, and the conservative turn French politics took thereafter. Political cartoons like this can be seen as a form of social commentary and protest. They use humor to expose hypocrisy and challenge authority. Art historians use primary source material such as newspapers and journals to understand the context in which these kinds of images were made.