La Présidente criant a tue-tête: Mesdames!... 1844

Curator: What a wonderfully energetic composition! Honoré Daumier created this lithograph in 1844. Its full title is “La Présidente criant a tue-tête: Mesdames!...” which translates to "The President Screaming at the Top of her Lungs: Ladies!..." Editor: Yes, energy is definitely the first thing that strikes you. The dynamic lines, the strong contrasts between light and shadow. The entire composition leans forward, propelled by the president's shriek. Curator: Precisely. Daumier was a master of social satire, and this piece is a commentary on the women’s movement, or what was perceived as such during the period. He regularly lampooned the perceived excesses of those involved. Editor: The exaggerated features, particularly the large nose and emphatic mouth of the president, contribute to the farcical mood. Notice how Daumier uses hatching and cross-hatching to create a sense of volume and depth, giving the figures a almost sculptural presence despite being a flat print. Curator: And what about the title, “Les Bas Bleus”? This referred to intellectual or educated women. Daumier portrays this assembly as chaotic, undermining their intellectual claims and suggesting a kind of hysterical unruliness. There’s clearly an established order being questioned and, in his view, humorously overturned. Editor: See the repetition of the rounded forms—the bonnets, the faces—echoing each other and contributing to the feeling of a teeming, barely contained crowd. Also consider the effect of the stark white bonnet on the president, it draws our eye, and contrasts her agitated facial expression. Curator: Indeed. One reading points towards the socio-political instability of France at the time, anxieties reflected in the caricature of women challenging traditional gender roles, mirroring deeper fears about societal structures. Editor: Ultimately, Daumier harnesses line and form with superb effect to underscore this raucous moment. I’m drawn to that upraised hand on the right as well. It practically sings out the clamor. Curator: I agree. Through his masterful skill, Daumier gives voice to, and indeed shape to, some prevailing fears and anxieties within 19th-century French society.