Crushed Lafayette!... Trapped, Old Fellow!, plate 22 from L’Association mensuelle 1834

This lithograph is by Honoré Daumier. It presents us with a portly figure shielding his face, his gesture a potent symbol of despair or perhaps willful ignorance, set against a backdrop teeming with political undertones. The crossed gravestones in the foreground speak of endings, while the distant procession hints at ongoing political dramas. The gesture of covering one's face is ancient, recurring in art across epochs. Think of the figures in classical tragedies, their faces masked to amplify grief or terror. Here, this motif is revived, but with a twist, in the context of French political life. It suggests a deliberate turning away from uncomfortable truths. This evokes the sense of collective denial or the psychological burden of witnessing historical events. This gesture is not merely personal, but a reflection of shared sentiments, deeply embedded in the cultural psyche. And so, the image resonates, echoing through time.