“Well...as the saying goes, like a genuine string of pearls, .... only some of them have become unthreaded, that's all!,” plate 9 from Coquetterie 1840

Honoré Daumier made this lithograph, "Well...as the saying goes, like a genuine string of pearls, .... only some of them have become unthreaded, that's all!," as plate 9 from Coquetterie. The print presents a composition dominated by linear hatching, creating an image that is as visually dense as it is psychologically revealing. Daumier masterfully uses line and shadow to underscore the subject’s self-absorption. The intricate rendering of the figure's robe, contrasted with the stark lines defining his gaunt physique, underscores a dissonance between outward appearance and inner decay. The mirror, a literal and figurative device, reflects not beauty but a grotesque self-image, amplified by the unforgiving strokes of Daumier's lithographic crayon. The exaggerated features and the overall composition challenge the viewer to question the values of the bourgeois society, thus destabilizing established notions of beauty and worth. The figure's focus on self-embellishment, set against the backdrop of his evident decline, becomes a poignant critique of vanity and superficiality. This lithograph functions as a form of social commentary, inviting continuous interpretation of its cultural and philosophical implications.