Man of the People 1836

Editor: This is Auguste Raffet’s "Man of the People." It’s a print from the 19th century, and there's a definite melancholy to it. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a carefully constructed image designed to perpetuate a specific narrative. Raffet depicts Napoleon as accessible, a man amongst the people, but consider who this image was for. Was it truly for the "people," or for a bourgeois audience eager to romanticize power? Editor: So, the image reinforces a certain social hierarchy? Curator: Precisely. This image is not merely a portrait, it is a political statement, a carefully crafted piece of propaganda designed to influence public perception of power dynamics. It's a mythmaking machine. Editor: That’s a powerful idea. I hadn't considered that. Curator: And that, my friend, is the very nature of visual culture. We must question the message that is being conveyed.