Désagrément d'aller a la pêche... 1847

Curator: Ah, look at this, from 1847: Honoré Daumier's lithograph, a print called "Désagrément d'aller a la pêche…" Or, roughly translated, "The Discomfort of Going Fishing." Editor: Discomfort is putting it mildly. He looks absolutely appalled! Is he pulling up…a wad of old socks? The texture he's managed to create is incredible! Curator: Daumier was a master of capturing human foibles. Observe how the "catch" disrupts the idealised landscape, it underscores the tension between Romantic expectations of nature and the lived reality. Fishing, like art itself, doesn’t always yield the beautiful image we expect. Editor: I see this drawing, and I immediately think of those Renaissance paintings of cherubic children holding up dead birds, only this is a more grotesque, darkly humorous take. The cloud of tiny scribbles surrounding the man's catch looks like an angry swarm of, well, discomfort. It's fantastic. Curator: The swarm visually echoes the political unrest of the period; Daumier used caricature to critique societal norms and political figures. He found ways to externalize social tension, didn’t he? It’s worth noting the dark underbelly of Romanticism's individualism in times of struggle. Editor: Totally. This isn't just someone being annoyed they didn't catch a fish. This is about the broader experience of disenchantment, the sense that what we expect versus what we get is often ridiculously far apart. The fellow in the drawing looks as if someone promised him transcendence on the riverbank, and instead, all he got was moldy rags and a bad smell! Curator: Precisely, Daumier reminds us of the fragile border that distinguishes aspiration and disillusionment by mocking social aspirations. The man wanted a idyllic painting of nature—but only found squalid reality! Editor: What's also remarkable is how quickly he sketches all this in just a few strokes. He perfectly catches the character’s expression! He is clearly disappointed and exhausted by failed hopes. This makes me think about how much humor there can be within personal letdowns and disappointments. Curator: Indeed, perhaps humor and self-awareness is exactly what can allow people to overcome those hurdles in real life. Editor: A little humor, a little humility, and maybe a good pair of gloves, just in case the "catch of the day" is more unpleasant than palatable. I think that's a great note to end on.