The Prefect of the Empire 1841

Curator: Here we have Honoré Daumier's lithograph, "The Prefect of the Empire." The artist captured this image from a satire published in a newspaper. Editor: Oh, he's wonderful! There’s something about the overfed figure juxtaposed against the delicate pastries that strikes me as bitterly funny. Curator: Daumier frequently used the imagery of food and corpulence to critique the corruption of the bourgeoisie under Louis-Philippe. He wanted to highlight the moral decay through visual metaphors of gluttony. Editor: Absolutely, it's like he's absorbing all the wealth and leaving nothing for anyone else. It speaks volumes with minimal line work. I see this person as a symbol for an entire class—they stand for overindulgence and self-importance. Curator: Indeed. And it reminds us that symbols of power and excess can be surprisingly consistent across different eras. Editor: Yes, a figure like this still has teeth, doesn’t it? Something to meditate on.