When It's Eighty Degrees in the Shade, Happy is the Householder Who Goes to Sleep in the Forest of St. Germain, in the Company of His Wife and Lots of Lizards 1847

Editor: This is Honoré Daumier’s lithograph, "When It's Eighty Degrees in the Shade..." It shows a bourgeois couple relaxing outdoors. The man looks quite content, but there's a satirical tone. What statements do you think Daumier is making with this piece? Curator: Daumier was a master of social critique. This work likely satirizes the bourgeois class's leisure activities. How might this image reflect class tensions of the time? Editor: Maybe it's commenting on their detachment from the working class who couldn't afford such leisurely days? Curator: Precisely. He critiques their privilege, contrasting it with the realities of most Parisians. Notice how even their attempt at rustic leisure feels stiff and posed. What does that say about authenticity and class performance? Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way. It makes you wonder about the performance of identity and leisure across different social strata. Curator: Exactly! Art can be a powerful tool for social commentary, urging us to question the structures of power and identity. Editor: I'll definitely look at Daumier's work with a new perspective now. Thanks for shedding light on the social critique in his art.