“- Enough, enough, it's much too tight!! - But not at all, Monsieur, this fabric suits you like a glove!”, plate 5 from Coquetterie 1839

Curator: Here we have Honoré Daumier's lithograph, dating back to 1839, entitled “- Enough, enough, it's much too tight!! - But not at all, Monsieur, this fabric suits you like a glove!” It’s part of a series called “Coquetterie.” Editor: Oh, this is deliciously uncomfortable! Just look at the contorted figures! The poor fellow looks like he's being squeezed into a sausage casing. Is that supposed to be fashionable? Curator: Absolutely! Daumier was a master of social satire. He keenly observed and critiqued Parisian society through his art. Prints like these were widely circulated and immensely popular because they mirrored and mocked everyday life, and people enjoyed this critique, or 'comédie humaine'. Editor: So, it's all about skewering the pretensions of fashion, right? The desperate pursuit of appearing elegant, no matter the cost—literal and figurative! That tailor certainly seems pleased with himself, doesn't he? The smug little smile, the dramatic drape of his jacket. Curator: Precisely! Daumier cleverly used caricature to expose the absurdity of the pursuit. And it isn’t merely about poking fun at a singular man, but exposing the socio-economic climate of the era. We can infer the sartorial standards from period and class, but his message holds some universal appeal. Editor: I see it. The visual language exaggerates everything to highlight how ludicrous it is— the strain in his face, the sharp angle of his spine and that mirror watching every excruciating moment of this struggle! Is he even able to breathe in there? Curator: That’s Daumier’s genius, capturing the drama in a single frame. Notice the spare lines. The print manages to convey a story that resonates today, doesn’t it? This desire to appear a certain way, constrained by image... Editor: True. Perhaps this scene is the 1839 equivalent of a modern fitting room, a space where societal expectations press upon us from all sides. A timeless truth that, no matter the period, the search for outward approval can tie you in knots. Curator: In a sense, this image invites us to find a bit of lightness in the binds of modern life, even in an era so removed from ours. Editor: That it does, through Daumier’s sly smile and the characters struggling there on this piece of paper, as alive now as ever.