"If you're not going to college any more quickly than that, I'll be stuck with you till age forty-five!" 1848

Editor: This is Honoré Daumier's lithograph, titled "If you're not going to college any more quickly than that, I'll be stuck with you till age forty-five!". The scratchy lines suggest a commentary on the everyday struggles of Parisian life. What do you see in the way Daumier used his materials here? Curator: Daumier's lithography becomes a means to examine class and labor. The very process, involving the greasy crayon and the stone, mirrors the grit of urban existence. Note the father's cane—a tool signifying bourgeois status, yet also hinting at the physical exertion required to maintain it. Editor: That's interesting. So, the material itself tells a story about social structures? Curator: Precisely. Lithography allowed for mass production, democratizing art, yet also reflecting the industrialization impacting social relations. Consider how the father's exasperation speaks to the anxieties of upward mobility during this period. Editor: I never thought about the printmaking process itself carrying so much meaning! Curator: Daumier masterfully connects the means of production to the realities of daily life. A true materialist lens enhances our understanding of the piece.