Aux Champs-Elysées...De trois a six heures c. 19th century

Honoré Daumier created this lithograph, titled 'Aux Champs-Elysées...De trois a six heures', using stark lines to depict a fashionable promenade. Note the dominance of rounded forms in the women's skirts contrasted by the vertical lines of the men's figures and the bare trees behind. This contrast is critical to understanding the structural dichotomy Daumier presents. The expansive skirts, rendered with intricate detail, symbolize the extravagance and artificiality of bourgeois fashion. This, by extension, suggests the broader social values of the time. The men, however, with their rigid poses, serve as silent observers, perhaps representing the established order scrutinizing this display. Daumier’s choice of the lithographic medium—with its capacity for sharp contrasts and textural detail—enhances the satirical edge. The exaggerated forms and meticulous linework invite us to question the values embedded within this constructed image of Parisian society.