A Naval Combat. “- So, you insulted my flag!.... just you wait, just wait till I'll sink you with a broad side!..... or even better I'll splash you with water from left and right and behind and....” plate 20 from Les Canotiers Parisiens 1843

Curator: This lithograph, created by Honoré Daumier in 1843, is titled "A Naval Combat… plate 20 from Les Canotiers Parisiens." It’s currently held at the Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: Immediately, I’m struck by the dynamic energy, captured through the dramatic splashing of water. The lines feel so alive and urgent. Curator: The title itself, which continues at length with the threat, "So, you insulted my flag!... just you wait, just wait till I'll sink you with a broad side!... or even better I'll splash you with water from left and right and behind and....", satirizes the bluster often associated with naval power and pride, doesn't it? Daumier frequently commented on social and political life in France. Editor: Yes, and observe how he uses contrast – the dark inks against the pale paper – to intensify the theatricality. Notice the character’s expressions too. They're absurdly pompous for a squabble between, presumably, common Parisians. Semiotically, it's almost clownish. Curator: Precisely! He was keen to undermine those in power by portraying bourgeois activities as farcical. In that context, it’s interesting to examine where Daumier produced such work. Did the availability of a free press factor in? And in what settings did these prints circulate among the public? Editor: Focusing on form, consider the strong diagonal of the oar slicing through the water. The artist employs dramatic foreshortening of it, immediately drawing our eye from the center towards the bottom right corner of the print. The architecture rendered loosely in the background further grounds the drama of the conflict in the immediacy of urban recreational life. Curator: The placement suggests a specific milieu; one shaped by the shifting economic forces then reshaping France. His work provides rich insights into these emergent socio-political transformations. It's like he weaponized his artistry, challenging the status quo. Editor: He distilled human behavior to its barest essence; creating art both comical and revealing, using composition, form and material! This image embodies the best of Daumier. Curator: Indeed, reflecting on it, it’s remarkable how much cultural critique he packed into a single image—accessible, even, to his contemporary audiences.