En v'la une bonne chasse! ... c. 19th century

Curator: Ah, there’s such an evocative quality to Daumier's work. This lithograph, dating from the 19th century, is entitled "En v'la une bonne chasse! ...", roughly translated to "There's a good hunt!". Doesn’t exactly look like it, does it? Editor: Not really, I have to say! There's something wonderfully melancholic about it, a world-weariness hanging heavy in the air. Two figures slumped in postures of utter defeat, and that poor dog… it’s as if the hunt’s yielded nothing but existential dread. Curator: You've picked up on that sense of resignation brilliantly! Daumier often used caricature to critique society, and here, the hunt becomes a symbol for life's disappointments, doesn't it? Look at how he exaggerates the droop of their shoulders, the long faces. Editor: Exactly! That slouch! The heavy hats shielding them as if from some divine displeasure. It’s as though they carry the weight of generations of failed hunts, or perhaps just the failure of the bourgeois dream. The hunting dog, I note, is barely present--it hangs at their heels but has no voice. A mere symbol to enhance the melancholic affect. Curator: Daumier was a master of line, using its quality to evoke specific feelings. Note the spareness of the landscape here. He focuses all attention on his subjects and their dejection. The sparse background enhances that sensation of loss, or void of opportunity. He isn’t just recording their failure. He's making you *feel* it. It makes me question what other hunts, outside the material, are being caricatured here. Editor: The dog acts as a silent witness to their shame. It's intriguing how animals become metaphors for the human condition. Perhaps he even satirizing the idea of man’s dominion over nature? Curator: Oh, quite possibly! Or simply poking fun at the bourgeoisie trying and often failing to adopt the ways of the landed aristocracy! It reminds me, there’s a sense of theatricality as well… the caption under the image tells us the disappointing count: “not a single partridge and two police reports.” The hunt here seems staged, more about social posing and pretension than genuine connection with nature, and that the “nature” in nature might bite you back when least expected. Editor: Yes, definitely staged in the sense that this image conveys a story of the human relationship with success, class, shame and, quite possibly, with the ever watchful gaze of authority. Daumier, in the end, uses a hunting scene for his critical aim. Curator: A wonderful final thought! The enduring appeal of Daumier lies, I believe, in his unflinching portrayal of humanity's foibles. Editor: Indeed. And in turning our collective failings into something so profoundly... poetic.