Eh! Bien ... mon ami, a quoi penses-tu? ... c. 19th century

Honoré Daumier's print presents a man jolted awake, a scene steeped in symbols of domestic unease. The candle, held aloft by the woman, casts a stark light, a motif echoing through art history, from Vanitas paintings to nocturnal scenes by Rembrandt, illuminating truths yet also obscuring deeper shadows. The man's posture, his hand raised as if warding off a blow, speaks to a primal fear, reminiscent of figures in ancient Greek tragedies caught in moments of terrible realization. His connection with the table could be a symbol of a pre-modern spiritist practice. The striking of the foot reminds us of the 'baubo' gesture, a connection between the female body and the underworld, an ambiguous gesture that combines the sacred and the profane. Here, Daumier taps into a collective memory, a shared understanding of the home not just as a refuge but as a stage for psychological dramas, where the mundane objects of our lives become charged with unspoken anxieties. This is a powerful force engaging viewers on a deep, subconscious level. It is clear that symbols such as the Baubo gesture, the light, and the stage-like composition, are continually resurfacing, evolving, and taking on new meanings in different historical contexts.