Ratapoil Fesant de la Propaganda: Si vous aimez votre femme, votre maison, votre champ, votre génisse et votre veau, signez, vous n'avez pas une minute de perdre! 19 - 1851

Honoré Daumier created this lithograph in France to be printed in a newspaper. The image portrays Ratapoil, a character Daumier invented as a symbol for Bonapartism, whispering propaganda into the ear of a peasant. Daumier made this piece during a time of great political instability in France, when the country was shifting between republic, empire, and monarchy. The character of Ratapoil is significant because it satirizes the way in which Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, later Napoleon III, used propaganda and populism to gain power. The image implies that Napoleon's supporters were manipulative and his followers naive. In the cultural context of 19th-century France, the peasantry represented a conservative and traditional way of life. To understand Daumier’s political views, one might research the archives of the newspapers for which he worked. This image questions the institutions of government and the role of propaganda in shaping public opinion.