Tiens c't'idée! Le municipal qui boit un coup... 1841

Curator: Oh, look at this wild scene! What strikes you first about Daumier's lithograph, "Tiens c't'idée! Le municipal qui boit un coup…" from 1841? It's chaotic, isn’t it? Editor: Utterly chaotic! My first impression is the precariousness of leisure for the working class. Look at the city officials enjoying themselves in the water. The textures are really striking; there's such dynamism in those swirling lines depicting water, isn't there? I immediately zero in on that— the tools, materials, and printmaking skill involved. Curator: Absolutely! Daumier’s grasp of the lithographic process is evident; it allowed for such detailed renderings and mass distribution. This wasn't some precious, singular oil painting. This was satire for the people, readily available. The humor, of course, aims at the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie—imagine, a city official caught enjoying himself! It bursts the bubble of their assumed dignity. Editor: Yes, that dissemination aspect is crucial, particularly considering the social commentary. Romanticism often idealized the heroic, but Daumier is poking fun. The "genre-painting" aspects you alluded to are spot on! And consider the labor – the physical effort in grinding the lithographic stone, the skilled hand needed for each print pulled. It highlights a world of labor *underneath* the carefree bathing scene. Curator: You know, thinking about Daumier and the romantic impulse... I can almost see the "municipal" here as some tragicomic Icarus, plunging headlong into reality from the heights of bureaucratic stuffiness. Except, instead of the sun melting his wax wings, it's probably just a bellyflop! Editor: A brilliant interpretation. I was also contemplating the very paper this image exists upon, from the sourcing of fibers to the social systems in place making mass replication so quickly for print. Curator: That’s a lovely contrast. So much labor, and so much carefree play... Daumier catches a world in hilarious, uneasy balance. It’s that friction, I think, that makes it stay with you. Editor: Agreed! Thank you, Honoré Daumier, for putting labor into producing this scene so many years later.