Caricature of a Stock Broker 19th-20th century

Editor: So, this is Jean François Raffaëlli's "Caricature of a Stock Broker," a small drawing at the Harvard Art Museums. He looks kind of smug, doesn't he? What do you see in this piece, beyond the obvious satire? Curator: Smugness, yes, but also a nervous energy. The sketchiness amplifies this, as if the broker is constantly in motion, chasing the next deal. Do you notice how his body seems to swell out of the lines, a physical manifestation of wealth and perhaps greed? Raffaëlli captures a critique of social climbing so subtly, yet so powerfully. Editor: That makes so much sense. I was so caught up in the surface that I didn't see the underlying commentary. Curator: It’s a reminder that art often whispers its truths rather than shouting them. I’ll be looking at line quality differently now.