De l'inconvénient d'aimer a la fois ... c. 19th century

Honoré Daumier created this lithograph titled 'De l'inconvénient d'aimer a la fois...' which translates to 'The inconvenience of loving dogs, cats and "potichomanie"' in France. This image creates meaning through visual codes that reference specific aspects of French culture, in particular "potichomanie" which was the practice of decorating glass vases with paper cutouts, very popular among middle-class women at the time. We can see that this practice and the vases it created might have influenced the artwork. Here the woman’s distress is caused by her pets who have destroyed these vases. The artist presents a critique of middle-class fads through the medium of popular prints. Is this self-consciously conservative because it critiques the fashions of the time? Is it mocking middle-class values? The interpretation of art relies on historical research. By exploring sources from the period, we can better understand the cultural context of 'potichomanie' and its place in French society.