N'ayez pas d'inquiètoude ... c. 19th century

Honoré Daumier made this lithograph, whose title translates as "Don't worry, sir...", in France, during the 19th century. In it, a rather stout bourgeois gentleman, accompanied by another, observes a dog dragging a body from a river. Daumier was concerned with the role of the artist in the rapidly changing social and political landscape of the time. This image, from a series called 'The Philanthropes of the Day', encapsulates the public role of art, satirising the pretensions of the middle class and their supposed benevolence. It reflects the growing sense of social critique that was emerging through the rise of print media and the increasing accessibility of art to a wider audience. To truly understand the historical context, one might delve into the archives of publications like ‘Le Charivari’ for which Daumier produced much of his work. This historical awareness allows us to understand the politics of imagery and the social conditions that shape artistic production.