As a consequence of the wine disease but also because of the foundation of the "Society for the Production of Artificial Wine", even Bacchus decides to switch to coconut water as a daily drink, plate 407 from Actualités 1857

Curator: This lithograph by Honoré Daumier, created in 1857, is titled "As a consequence of the wine disease but also because of the foundation of the 'Society for the Production of Artificial Wine', even Bacchus decides to switch to coconut water as a daily drink, plate 407 from Actualités." Quite a mouthful, isn't it? Editor: It is, but that exaggerated title almost perfectly encapsulates its humor. The contrasting textures in the rendering immediately strike me—the softness of Bacchus's drapery versus the rough, almost brittle, depiction of the common man. There’s an immediate visual dichotomy. Curator: Exactly. This print offers commentary on the economic shifts in mid-19th century France, where a blight decimated grape harvests. Notice the specificities of their garb. Bacchus is idealized but slovenly, contrasted with the figure whose tools suggest the laborious trade now peddling substitutes due to material necessity. Editor: So, the focus isn't solely on the figures themselves, but on what they represent within the socio-economic framework. It is compelling how the artist uses light and shadow to emphasize the shift in power dynamics through access to, or a need to adapt materials due to external societal challenges. Curator: Precisely. Daumier exploits the contrast between classical mythology and contemporary labor practices, creating a sharp political satire. Editor: And Bacchus himself becomes a symbol of something soured by industrial “progress.” It's almost an alchemical subversion. What used to be a luxury of gods is now becoming industrialized artifice and labor, offered begrudgingly as 'progress'. Curator: Yes! This critique is very characteristic of Daumier, and perfectly revealed through the cheap lithographic medium, the artistic vehicle which broadcasts his message. Its proliferation aligns itself with the "artificial wine." Editor: Looking at it now, the composition itself also underscores a kind of tension. The lines of their bodies, both are bending forward but avoiding eye contact, creates a sense of awkward transaction. Their respective downward gazes make the audience ponder on how industries were born and reinvented back then and how those systems echo today. Curator: Absolutely, Daumier makes us think critically about the impact of economic conditions and the refashioning of not just products, but entire cultural mythologies. Editor: It's fascinating to consider how he utilized formal qualities like line and contrast not just for aesthetic effect, but to encode profound commentary about the processes, and power structures, in production of that era.