Toerist biedt snuiftabak aan twee kunstenaars aan 1838

Curator: Let's take a look at this lithograph by Paul Gavarni, created around 1838. It’s titled "Toerist biedt snuiftabak aan twee kunstenaars aan" – A Tourist Offering Snuff to Two Artists. Editor: My first thought? This is delicious! The subtle line work just vibrates with the everyday absurdities we still recognise now. The energy makes me feel like I'm eavesdropping on a particularly witty street scene. Curator: Gavarni, of course, was a keen observer of Parisian society. This lithograph would have been printed en masse, appearing in publications and readily consumed by the burgeoning middle class. The paper itself becomes part of the story - a medium accessible for commentary and consumption. Editor: I imagine the smell of ink lingering in the air, as potent as the snuff itself! Do you think Gavarni felt a kinship with his subjects or a detached amusement? Look at their faces—so puffed and distinguished! The snobbery of the elite… or is it a tenderness for their dedication to refined leisure? Curator: Perhaps both? His lithographs often walked that line, satirising social mores while acknowledging the human element. Snuff-taking itself was a ritual, linked to status and conspicuous consumption. These little everyday habits became important class signifiers. The very act of him distributing these artworks further implicates art in consumption! Editor: I love how immediate lithography seems—direct from mind to stone to paper. You see his quick hand; it mirrors the prompt gestures he represents! I almost wish I was in that busy Parisian scene… minus the actual smells. Curator: The medium allowed for relatively rapid production, catering to the public’s demand for images, which ties into his art being reproduced in mass quantities. Each print becomes evidence of the artistic labor and its distribution network. Editor: That's it: labour! Perhaps they look so tired from breathing those fumes as they labour over an illustration… A good artist makes any medium breathe a little more. I feel seen. I think this image understands me, and all my odd contradictions and ambitions. Curator: Precisely, we become implicated as the viewer - just as these "artists" of Gavarni’s day became implicated in their rituals of social status. His satirical lens highlights how meaning and value are manufactured through the circulation of objects and ideas, even seemingly minor habits of consumption. Editor: Yes, even in a pinch of snuff. Curator: And printed images of a street corner with passing members of high society. Food for thought indeed.