“- And your bourgeois - is he for freedom of the butcher's trade?,” plate 464 from Actualités 1857

"– And your bourgeois – is he for freedom of the butcher’s trade?" is a lithograph by Honoré Daumier, created in 1857. The piece is a satirical commentary on the political and social landscape of France during a period of rapid change. The artwork depicts a butcher, caricatured with exaggerated features, who is seemingly oblivious to the fear of a terrified woman before him, highlighting the indifference of the upper class towards the struggles of the working class. This lithographic print, now part of the collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, is a prime example of Daumier’s sharp social criticism.