“- Driver, driver, you cannot reject me, you have to save my life... bring me back to the races alive! - But come on, Spaniard… be reasonable… you don't have to fear the rain, since you are wearing a coat!…,” plate 2 from Le Carnaval De 1858 1858

Honoré Daumier created this lithograph in 1858, capturing a scene from "Le Carnaval de 1858." Lithography is a printmaking process that uses a flat stone or metal plate on which the image areas are worked using a greasy substance, so that the ink will adhere to them, while the non-image areas are made ink-repellent. Daumier was a master of this medium, using its capacity for nuanced tonal variations to create powerful social commentaries. In this print, we see a social dynamic laid bare through Daumier’s characteristic lines. The nervous figures, rendered with quick, expressive strokes, contrast with the more solidly drawn carriage and driver. The lithographic process allows for a directness of mark-making, mirroring the immediacy of the social critique. Daumier’s skill transforms a commercial process into a tool for social commentary. By embracing lithography, Daumier blurred the lines between high art and popular culture. He uses commercial means to engage with pressing issues of labor, class, and social mobility.