A Parisian Remains Faithful to the Cult of Tragedy 1852

Curator: This is Honoré Daumier's, "A Parisian Remains Faithful to the Cult of Tragedy." I'm drawn to how it reflects the societal obsession with theatricality during the 19th century. Editor: It strikes me immediately as sardonic; the lithographic lines capture the acidic mood, the grotesque figure of the man in the foreground. What materials did Daumier employ in this print's creation? Curator: Lithography allowed Daumier to mass produce these social commentaries. We see how the play, perhaps a Greek tragedy, becomes almost secondary to the audience's exaggerated reactions. Daumier critiques the bourgeoisie here. Editor: Exactly. He used the very means of mass production to critique bourgeois culture; the play becomes a commodity, an act of consumption. Even the tools—the printing press, the lithographic stone—become instruments of social critique. Curator: It’s fascinating how Daumier uses a popular medium to question the values of the very audience consuming his work. Editor: Indeed. It makes you wonder about the role of art as both reflection and critique, doesn't it?