Pourvu que je ne rencontre pas ma femme! c. 19th century

Editor: This is "Pourvu que je ne rencontre pas ma femme!" by Edouard de Beaumont. It's a print and it feels...humorous. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The title translates to "Provided I don't meet my wife!". Notice how the man's posture and expression, averted from the women, speaks volumes. What feelings do you think are evoked by his averted gaze? Editor: Guilt, maybe? Like he knows he's doing something he shouldn't. Curator: Exactly. The artist uses a common trope: the straying husband. The imagery taps into cultural anxieties about infidelity and societal expectations. Editor: So, it’s playing on those established ideas, using them to create a quick, relatable story. Curator: Precisely. It’s a little visual joke, relying on shared cultural understanding. It's a clever snapshot of social commentary, using universal human anxieties.