Lithography for the series "Les Enfants Terribles'' 

This lithograph is by Paul Gavarni, and it belongs to a series called “Les Enfants Terribles”. Gavarni employed lithography, a printmaking technique which, in the 19th century, made images like this one newly accessible to a wide audience. The process involves drawing with a greasy crayon on a prepared stone, then treating the surface so that ink adheres only to the drawn areas. The stone is then pressed against paper, transferring the image. The result is a quality of line that resembles drawing, while also allowing for the mass production of images. Here, the lithographic process lends a sense of immediacy to Gavarni’s depiction of domestic life. This work, and others like it, challenge traditional distinctions between fine art and commercial craft, inviting us to consider the social and economic contexts in which art is made and consumed.