Oh Patrie!!! 1840

Curator: Look at the chill emanating from this print by Honoré Daumier. He rendered this lithograph titled “Oh Patrie!!!” in 1840. It has quite a biting quality. Editor: My initial feeling is melancholy. There’s a stillness, a certain stoicism even as a blizzard rages. The man seems utterly alone against the urban winter. Curator: Indeed. Daumier, through his satirical prints, was often a harsh critic of the bourgeoisie and the political climate of his time. This was published during a period of political turbulence. Consider the caption. Is it genuine patriotism or is Daumier mocking hollow pronouncements of love for one's country? Editor: The symbol of snow here could represent coldness, isolation but perhaps it refers also to cleansing. His hunched posture with his arms crossed...He looks neither defiant nor celebratory, and it communicates this sense of disillusionment that so many felt during the post-revolutionary years. Curator: Precisely. We need to understand Daumier’s prints not merely as isolated artworks but as a visual commentary deeply entrenched within the political debates and social conditions of 19th-century France. Also notice that scurrying animal in the background, perhaps it is trying to get warm. Daumier understood how public sentiment could be swayed, manipulated even, and he held the press accountable. Editor: Note, too, how the swirling lines of the lithograph mimic the emotional turmoil of the figure. The blizzard feels both internal and external. Curator: It's masterful, isn't it? By employing satire, he prompts a dialogue about societal values and leadership in times of change. Editor: This piece resonates because it is about disillusionment but also perseverance in difficult circumstances. Curator: It holds a mirror to the complexities of patriotism. "Oh Patrie!!!" is a reminder of the powerful role art plays in critiquing our relationship to our governments, our nations. Editor: This makes us reconsider the concept of patriotism, then and now, and its implications for belonging and exclusion.