Friendship With a Great Chemist is Not Always a Godsend… “I am so sure of my findings that I will now poison my best friend, Mr. Coquardeau, and I will retrieve arsenic in his eyeglasses,” plate 39 from Émotions Parisiennes 1841

Honoré Daumier crafted this lithograph, a scene rife with dark humor and social commentary, for the series Émotions Parisiennes. The central figure, a chemist, embodies hubris as he theatrically declares his intent to poison his friend, Mr. Coquardeau. Here, the chemist's gesture mirrors that of a stage magician, evoking a sense of theatricality. Observe the sly grin on the sculpted grotesque at the edge of the table, which evokes the image of Cerberus, the watchdog of the Underworld, as a symbol of death. The open mouthed crowd, a sea of faces, becomes a modern interpretation of the Greek chorus. Such gatherings in the name of science bring to mind the alchemists of old, whose explorations often skirted the edges of morality. The act of poisoning, long associated with treachery, is here presented with a chilling nonchalance, tapping into a primal fear of betrayal. The image speaks to our collective subconscious, reminding us of the ever-present shadow of danger lurking beneath the veneer of progress.