Le Cid Also Puts Himself in the Field to go fight the Moores. 1859

Curator: Honoré Daumier’s lithograph, "Le Cid Also Puts Himself in the Field to go fight the Moores," presents a scene rife with dramatic irony. What strikes you about it? Editor: The sheer volume of lines! It’s chaotically energetic, almost frenzied. It really conveys the feeling of a crowd worked up to a fever pitch. Curator: Precisely. Daumier was commenting on the 19th-century revival of interest in medievalism, particularly the romanticized idea of chivalry, even as France faced very contemporary political turmoil. Editor: I can see that tension— the crude lithographic process contrasting the refined subject matter. The labor of creating multiple prints underscores the mass appeal of these romantic narratives. Curator: The humor is biting, playing on the public's appetite for heroic narratives while questioning the relevance of such ideals in modern society. Editor: It makes you wonder about the power of storytelling and its effect on society, doesn't it? Curator: Indeed, and how artists use their craft to shape and critique those stories.