"Hey!... You have a boa constrictor in your garden, too..." 1858

Curator: Aha, Daumier! "Hey!... You have a boa constrictor in your garden, too..." A sly commentary, wouldn't you say? Editor: It certainly is! It feels almost absurd, this drawing—especially with that snake coiled around the potted plant! What's your take on the humor here? Curator: Well, Daumier, the old wag, is lampooning the Société d'Acclimatation. A bit highbrow and obsessed with importing exotic flora. The boa? Why, it's indispensable for making those Brazilian plants feel at home! Don't you think it's almost a visual pun? Editor: A pun? I hadn't considered that. So, the humor's rooted in the absurdity of trying to replicate a foreign environment? Curator: Precisely! A critique of misplaced priorities, masked as a casual garden chat. Makes you wonder what eccentricities we're indulging in today, doesn't it? Editor: It does! It's amazing how relevant a 19th-century jab can still feel.