The shirt-maker c. 19th century

Curator: I find Honoré Daumier’s "The Shirt-Maker," housed at the Harvard Art Museums, quite striking. There's a raw immediacy in the lithographic rendering. Editor: It's a peculiar and vaguely unsettling image, wouldn't you say? The contrast between the two figures and their expressions is quite distinct. Curator: Daumier often used lithography to comment on the social fabric. Look at the precision of line, the exploitation, the way he captures textures – it's all pointing to the realities of labour and production in 19th-century France. Editor: Absolutely, and the narrative it constructs raises interesting questions about class and identity. The subservient position of the shirt-maker, the demanding client... it speaks volumes about the power dynamics at play. Curator: The very act of mass-producing images like these allowed Daumier to disseminate critical perspectives on the bourgeoisie and the working class. It's a fascinating process. Editor: Indeed, it all circles back to how art can actively engage with—and perhaps even challenge—the social norms of its time. Curator: A potent example of how materiality and process can reveal societal complexities. Editor: An important reminder to look at art through a lens of equity and power.