Quelle est votre opinion sur ... c. 19th century

Editor: Here we have Honoré Daumier’s lithograph, "Quelle est votre opinion sur...", from around the 19th century. It looks like a genre scene, but something feels subtly off, perhaps a critique? What do you see in this piece? Curator: Immediately, I am drawn to the gestures and expressions. The exaggerated features are not merely humorous. They serve as symbols of societal roles and the inherent contradictions within those roles. What cultural codes are being triggered here, would you say? Editor: I'm not sure. It’s like... class commentary? The contrast in their faces – one so proper, the other… not. Curator: Exactly! The very act of consumption, signified by the 'eau de vie,' links to status. Notice how Daumier employs hatching and cross-hatching, techniques mirroring the era’s political prints and the burgeoning middle class? He infuses symbolic tension into every line. Think of similar caricatures from Hogarth. How does Daumier alter that trajectory? Editor: It's harsher? More critical, perhaps? Curator: Indeed. The ritual of tasting becomes a vehicle for a psychological study. One sips, the other observes. And those background figures – shadows of aspiration and societal pressure! Do you feel he makes judgments or holds a mirror? Editor: Maybe a bit of both? Holding up a mirror…but a funhouse mirror. Curator: Precisely. Daumier gives cultural memory a face – a satirical, memorable face, urging a consideration of social hierarchies through visual symbols. A brilliant piece of social commentary. Editor: It is so fascinating how much history and commentary is packed into one print. I never would have picked up on these connections.