"Hello! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance..." 1840

Editor: This is "Hello! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance..." by Honoré Daumier. It looks like a lithograph. The figures are so exaggerated; I’m curious, what social commentary might Daumier be making? Curator: Daumier uses caricature to critique societal norms. Water, often seen as purifying, here becomes a stage for social performance. Note how the figures present themselves, exaggerating their features. Do you see echoes of classical satire? Editor: I do, in the way they mimic formality in such an absurd setting. The stark contrast highlights the ridiculousness of social posturing, doesn't it? Curator: Precisely. The image captures a cultural memory of class divisions, even in leisure. What does the distortion of features suggest to you about inner character versus outward appearance? Editor: That perhaps appearances can be deceiving, and that Daumier uses caricature to strip away those pretenses. I see so much more now.