9 heures du soir 1839

Here, Honoré Daumier captures a scene titled "9 Heures du Soir" through lithography, showing a solitary figure preparing for sleep. The key symbol here is the candle they hold, a beacon against the encroaching darkness. This motif of light against the dark echoes through art history, from medieval depictions of saints holding candles as emblems of divine illumination, to the Dutch Masters' dramatic use of light to pierce through shadows, symbolizing knowledge or revelation. Recall Caravaggio's use of chiaroscuro, where light dramatically highlights figures against tenebrous backgrounds, evoking a sense of spiritual awakening. The single candle flame, like a modern-day digital screen, becomes the last point of focus before the oblivion of sleep. The candle flickering in the gloom, much like our own fleeting thoughts before sleep, taps into our collective anxieties about mortality and the unknown. The light of reason is about to be extinguished. This symbol has recurred throughout art, evolving from religious enlightenment to a more introspective and psychological exploration of human consciousness.