Fortune Telling in Recent Times 1860

Editor: This is Honoré Daumier’s "Fortune Telling in Recent Times." It's a lithograph, so it's all about the printing process. The figures seem very agitated. What can you tell me about it? Curator: As a lithograph, the image hinges on the artist's labor and the materiality of the printing stone itself. Consider the social context: how does mass production impact the value and consumption of art, and what does this say about leisure in 19th-century Paris? Editor: So, it's less about the fortune-telling and more about how it's made and consumed? Curator: Precisely. The print's accessibility challenges traditional notions of art and class. Editor: That makes me look at it in a new light. Thanks!