"Ah!...the comets..., that always signals some great misfortunes!...I wouldn't be surprised if that poor Mme. Galuchet died suddenly yesterday evening!..." by Honoré Daumier

"Ah!...the comets..., that always signals some great misfortunes!...I wouldn't be surprised if that poor Mme. Galuchet died suddenly yesterday evening!..." 1858

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Dimensions: image: 25.1 x 20.2 cm (9 7/8 x 7 15/16 in.) sheet: 27.4 x 35.6 cm (10 13/16 x 14 in.)

Copyright: CC0 1.0

Curator: This is a print by Honoré Daumier. It's titled "Ah!... the comets..., that always signals some great misfortunes!... I wouldn't be surprised if that poor Mme. Galuchet died suddenly yesterday evening!...". Editor: What a deliciously ominous scene! All those worried faces gazing up at the comet—it's like a dark omen hanging over the city. I can almost hear the gossiping in the streets. Curator: Daumier often used his art to satirize Parisian society, and here, we see that superstition and the anxieties of everyday life become intertwined. Editor: Exactly! It's as if the cosmos is in cahoots with the local gossip mill. This work is like a snapshot of collective dread. It's a potent reminder that people have always sought meaning, however irrational, in the skies above. Curator: Indeed. It's a commentary on how people interpret events, finding causality where there may be none. Editor: It gives me goosebumps. The image is darkly humorous, but there’s also this undercurrent of genuine fear of the unknown. It resonates.

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