Broadside with 48 scenes depicting the antics of the shoemaker's apprentice 1861

This broadside, created in Barcelona in 1861 by José Noguera, is a printed sheet of paper, a relatively inexpensive medium even then. It's covered with 48 scenes depicting the misadventures of a shoemaker's apprentice. The printing process itself is key here. This wasn't a unique work of art but was made for mass distribution. The scenes, rendered with simple lines, would have been etched into a metal plate, inked, and then pressed onto the paper. Each sheet, identical to the last, would have been sold cheaply on the streets. The very nature of printmaking made this kind of social commentary possible. It speaks volumes about the lives of working-class people. The young apprentice, presumably trapped in a system of labor with little opportunity, finds his release in mischievous acts. It makes you wonder about the artist's own social standing, and whether he, too, felt trapped in the gears of production. This broadside reminds us that even the humblest materials can carry powerful social messages, blurring the lines between art, craft, and political commentary.