Usant jusqu'a son dernier homme ... c. 19th century

Editor: So, this lithograph, "Usant jusqu'a son dernier homme..." by Honoré Daumier, dates to around the 19th century. It's a striking image, a powerful man towering over a diminutive figure. What's your take on this print? Curator: For me, this image screams about production. Think about it: the process of lithography itself – the labour, the stones, the printing presses. And then there's the subject. It shows us hierarchies of labour. Who profits from this system? Editor: The text mentions the last man and the last musket… it suggests a kind of exhaustion? Curator: Precisely! Consider the musket, a mass-produced object of war. Daumier isn’t just showing us the "last" of something; he's commenting on a society that consumes people and resources until nothing is left. It’s a critique of the political machine grinding down its populace. Look at the figure’s exaggerated features, is it perhaps critiquing the very elites who propagate these endless cycles? Editor: That's interesting, the figure as a kind of personification of relentless production, right? It feels less about individuals and more about systems. Curator: Absolutely. It prompts us to think about who controls the means of production. Daumier’s choice of lithography as a medium makes this critique all the more potent. It’s accessible, reproducible… mirroring the cycle of consumption he critiques. Editor: I never really thought about prints in terms of labor before, this completely changes my view! Curator: Art isn’t just about what is depicted, but *how* it is made and who benefits in that production process!