Le Fantome 1835

Honoré Daumier’s lithograph, *Le Fantôme*, presents us with a spectral figure rendered in stark blacks and whites. The composition centers on a ghostlike form, its draped figure dominating the foreground against a nocturnal urban setting. Daumier employs a strategic interplay of light and shadow, accentuating the eerie nature of the scene. Notice the contrast: the illuminated facade where the figure writes with the darkened street scene. The ghost could symbolize justice, seeking to illuminate corruption within the "Palais de Justice". Semiotically, the visual cues - the ghost, the legal setting - combine to question the integrity of the judicial system itself. This reading prompts us to consider the deeper, structural critique inherent in Daumier's work. The play of light and shadow, besides its aesthetic function, emphasizes a societal critique. The unresolved narrative leaves us contemplating the ever-shifting meanings of justice and power.