“- This one may look as unhappy as a rock, before I would give him a job", plate 311 from Souvenirs d’artistes 1862

This lithograph was made by Honoré Daumier, sometime in the mid-19th century. Daumier was a master of this printmaking technique, which involves drawing with a greasy crayon on a stone matrix, then using chemical processes to prepare it for printing. It was a relatively quick and cheap way to make images, perfect for mass media. Here, the grainy texture achieved through lithography becomes part of the image’s meaning. The scene shows a well-to-do gentleman rejecting a working-class figure, deeming him “as unhappy as the stones.” The artist’s use of lithography – literally, writing on stone – subtly underscores this cruel remark. Daumier was deeply engaged with the social and political issues of his time, and lithography allowed him to disseminate his views widely. His choice of this reproducible medium, rather than painting or sculpture, reflects a deliberate effort to engage with issues of labor, class, and the everyday realities of 19th-century French society, making his prints a potent form of social commentary.