"Take a good look at how they have stuck away my frame!" 1859

Curator: Daumier's lithograph, "Take a good look at how they have stuck away my frame!", presents an interesting case study of artistic labor. What strikes you about it? Editor: The frenetic lines capture the feeling of the crowded 1859 exhibition. What does this work say about the art market and its impact on artists at the time? Curator: It points to the artist's struggle within the Salon system, doesn't it? Look at the way Daumier uses lithography, a medium accessible to the masses, to critique the elite art world and the economics dictating exhibition spaces. Editor: I see, the choice of medium emphasizes the message about labor and value. I hadn't considered it that way. Curator: Exactly! The materiality of the print underscores the social critique. Editor: Thanks, it really gives a new appreciation to Daumier's practice.