Reverie 

Paul Gavarni made this drawing called Reverie, with graphite and watercolor on paper. Looking at this image, we have to ask ourselves about the public role of art in 19th-century France. The cultural references here center on the everyday lives of the working class, who have been largely ignored in academic artwork. Here, the image is focused on a woman, possibly elderly, who stands with a walking stick. The image creates meaning through visual codes. The historical association of the working class with this type of dress and social position is brought to the fore. Does the artwork comment on the social structures of its own time? I would say that it does, given the limited representations of the working class. To understand the role of the artist, historians have many resources, including letters, exhibition reviews, and institutional records. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context.