“Pardon me, Mayor.... would you please be so kind to tell me whether swimming is allowed here?,” plate 25 from Les Baigneurs 1840

This lithograph, entitled “Pardon me, Mayor… would you please be so kind to tell me whether swimming is allowed here?,” is part of Honoré Daumier’s series “Les Baigneurs.” Created in 1840, this print depicts a satirical scene of a man asking a stern-looking mayor if he is allowed to swim in the river. The humor of the piece comes from Daumier’s exaggeration of the characters’ expressions and the way he uses simple lines to capture the essence of the scene. This lithograph, like many of Daumier’s works, served as a commentary on the social issues of his time. It is now part of the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.