The New Paris. How fortunate for those in a hurry that the avenues have been widened!!!, plate 301 from Souvenirs d’artistes 1862

This lithograph, "The New Paris," was created by Honoré Daumier in the mid-19th century. Lithography is a printmaking process using a stone or metal plate with a smooth surface. Daumier would have drawn directly onto the prepared surface with a greasy crayon, allowing for a wide range of tonal effects, from dense blacks to delicate grays. Here, Daumier uses these properties to great effect, capturing a chaotic scene of urban life, transformed by the modernization of Paris. The wide avenues, meant to ease movement, instead become sites of near-miss accidents. Look closely and you’ll see the figures are caricatures, their expressions conveying a mix of annoyance and urgency. Daumier’s choice of lithography wasn’t accidental; it was a medium well-suited for mass production and dissemination through newspapers and journals. It allowed him to reach a broad audience with his social commentary, highlighting the tensions and absurdities of a city caught in the throes of progress. This print reminds us of the amount of work involved in the production, and that material processes are deeply embedded within broader social and political issues.