“- Sue him.....sue him..... That would be a good trick to play on your neighbour... it would eat up all his savings, at least 100 écus.... - Yes but I would also have to eat into my savings and I really have no appetite for that....,” plate 29 from Les Gens De Justice 1846

Honoré Daumier created this lithograph, plate 29 from Les Gens De Justice, using black ink on paper. The composition stages two figures at a table, their bent postures communicating a sense of cynical fatigue. The stark contrast between light and shadow, achieved through dense hatching, accentuates the emotional weight of the scene. Daumier masterfully uses line to delineate character and critique social structures. Notice how the lawyer's sharp, angular lines contrast with the softer, more rounded forms of his client. This visual language underscores the power dynamics at play. The work invites us to consider how legal proceedings often reduce individuals to mere objects of financial calculation, challenging our perceptions of justice and morality. The very texture of the lithographic lines conveys a sense of unease, mirroring the moral ambiguity of the depicted encounter. This is more than a snapshot of a transaction; it is a commentary on the corrosive effects of legal machinations on the human spirit, inviting ongoing scrutiny.