"Don't look over there, you see it's really only a dummy." 1869

Curator: Let's consider this lithograph by Honoré Daumier, "Don't look over there, you see it's really only a dummy," housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. It's a striking image. Editor: Indeed. The immediate impression is one of stark contrast—light and shadow, fear and... what? False hope? The composition leads your eye right to the word "liberté". Curator: Daumier often used his art as social commentary. Here, the figure of Liberty points towards the horizon, away from the looming "Spectre Rouge," a symbol of the Red Terror. Editor: The linework is so expressive. Note how the terrified figure is drawn with frantic, almost scribbled lines, against the smoother, more statuesque Liberty. Curator: It’s a powerful critique of how authority figures can manipulate the public through propaganda. Look at the caption too, which suggests that Liberty is fake, like a dummy. Editor: The way he uses the lithographic crayon to create such depth and emotional intensity is really remarkable. Even the gradations of light feel politically charged. Curator: Absolutely. Daumier holds a mirror to the political theater of his time, exposing its illusions. Editor: A stark visual essay indeed. I am struck by the enduring resonance of such dramatic compositions in our contemporary world.