The usefulness of the crinoline when cheating the customs, plate 414 from Actualités 1857

This lithograph, “The usefulness of the crinoline when cheating the customs,” was made by Honoré Daumier. Daumier was a master of lithography, a printmaking process that uses a stone or metal plate with a smooth surface. The artist draws an image on the surface with a greasy substance, and then applies ink to the treated surface. The ink sticks to the drawing and is repelled by the wet, untreated areas, allowing the image to be transferred to paper. Here, Daumier shows us a woman using her crinoline, the wide, cage-like undergarment popular at the time, to smuggle goods. The crinoline, itself a product of industrial manufacturing, becomes a tool to subvert the very system that produced it. Daumier’s image is a commentary on the ways in which people find creative ways to circumvent the rules and regulations of a rapidly industrializing society. The very act of creating lithographs made Daumier hyper-aware of the connection between art, commerce, and popular culture.