"If you knew how pretty you are!" 1841

Curator: This is Honoré Daumier's print, "If you knew how pretty you are!", residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The lithographic crayon work gives it a velvety feel, even though the scene is a bit stuffy, don't you think? Curator: Daumier was always engaging with the social issues of his time. I see it as commentary on the role of women in bourgeois society, confined to domestic spaces and judged on their appearance. Editor: And the physical process itself—the lithography—allowed for mass production, making his social critiques accessible to a wider audience. That's part of its power. Curator: Absolutely, the medium serves the message. It allowed him to reach beyond the salon and into the streets of Paris. Editor: It's a powerful reminder that the means of making art shapes who gets to see it, and what stories get told.