Robert Macaire met aandelenhandelaar 1837

Curator: Today, we are looking at Honoré Daumier’s 1837 lithograph, “Robert Macaire met aandelenhandelaar,” which translates to "Robert Macaire with a shareholder," a piece currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Daumier was quite the character! Editor: Whew! Dark mood, right? Something sneaky going on; you can just tell by the scrawny one's face! The way Daumier used lines…almost feverish. And those stacks of...are those stocks? Curator: Precisely! Daumier crafted this work during a time of immense social and political upheaval in France. The caricature of Robert Macaire was, in effect, a commentary on the rampant financial speculation and corruption pervasive under King Louis-Philippe. This print comes from a series that specifically targets the bourgeoisie class's insatiable greed for wealth. Editor: I see them. Macaire oozes disdain while counting his bounty. Is it just me or does he look like he swallowed a few of those stacks of shares whole? Gross. But also clever, that kind of visual metaphor. I keep thinking about inequality and how these types take up space, leaving scraps for the rest of us. Curator: Right, the artist very effectively exaggerates the physical attributes of both figures. It serves to make very clear the moral decay and the financial recklessness that marked the era. Also note how he’s standing in front of those stacks; like the system depends on his posture to stand in place. I feel a connection to modern anxieties, where everything feels like a house of cards. Editor: Definitely! Still seeing a lot of this play out today. Feels less like art from a distant era and more like the news. You can still hear the ring of their schemes. Thank you for unraveling the layers. Curator: Indeed, a haunting snapshot of how the pursuit of wealth can corrupt. Thanks to you for diving into those raw emotional responses.