By Jove, Baron I'm very happy to run into you. . . c. 19th century

Curator: Oh, look at this lithograph, "By Jove, Baron, I'm very happy to run into you..." by Paul Gavarni. I adore the exaggerated expressions. Editor: The immediate impression is of satire, but it feels a bit… constrained. The linework is precise, almost industrial. How was it produced and distributed? Curator: Gavarni was a keen observer of Parisian society. This captures a moment, a little jab at social pretension and, perhaps, financial precariousness beneath the surface of things. Editor: The social context is key. Lithography allowed for mass production and distribution. The work's accessibility challenged the existing social hierarchies reflected within its very subject matter. Curator: It makes you wonder about the characters. Were they real, or composites? I find myself imagining stories for each of them. Editor: Indeed, let's consider the impact this piece had, reproduced and consumed by a diverse public in the rapidly changing world of 19th-century Paris. It’s a social document. Curator: I love that, it reminds us that art is never created in a vacuum. Editor: Agreed. It reflects and shapes the world around it, one print at a time.