Cocher! La main de notre fille! c. 19th century

Here we see Honoré Daumier's lithograph, "Cocher! La main de notre fille!". The scene pulsates with emotional intensity, a family's desperate plea rendered in stark monochrome. Daumier masterfully employs line and form to convey both movement and anguish. The exaggerated gestures of the figures—arms outstretched, faces contorted—create a sense of urgency. We see the family in the foreground; their bodies are foreshortened, thrusting them into our space, while the coachman looms in the background, distant and indifferent. This juxtaposition underscores the social critique at the heart of Daumier's work. Daumier uses the formal elements of the lithograph to challenge fixed social hierarchies. The contrast between the expressive figures and the detached coachman destabilizes traditional representations of power, inviting us to reflect on the human cost of social inequality.