Twee kruideniers bespreken hun zaken tijdens het jagen 1830

Nicolas Toussaint Charlet made this print, "Two Grocers Discussing Business While Hunting," sometime in the first half of the 19th century. It presents us with an intriguing image of social life in France during the Restoration or the July Monarchy. Charlet offers us two men in the garb of hunters, complete with rifles and a hunting dog, yet their conversation is of business, not sport. The humor lies in this contrast between social aspiration and economic reality. Made not long after the French Revolution, the print can be understood as commenting on the changing social structures of its time, where class lines were becoming increasingly blurred by the rise of the bourgeoisie. For art historians, prints like these offer a wealth of information about daily life, social attitudes, and the subtle ways in which artists could comment on the world around them. Examining period newspapers, social commentaries, and the history of institutions can further enrich our understanding. Art's meaning is always contingent on its social and institutional context.