Caricature. No. 5. Les Voisins de Campagne. 1828

Editor: So, here we have Eugène-Louis Lami’s "Caricature. No. 5. Les Voisins de Campagne." made in 1828, a lithograph with watercolor. It strikes me as a snapshot of social dynamics, maybe a little mocking? What do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, it is more than just a mocking snapshot. It's a commentary on the emerging bourgeois class in post-Revolutionary France, wouldn't you agree? Lami is playing with ideas of leisure and social performance. Note the ways in which each figure is carefully constructed – their attire, their posture. Consider this from a gendered perspective. Editor: Right, the women are so elaborately dressed. Do you think there is an imbalance of power dynamic displayed in the artwork, then? Curator: Absolutely. It prompts questions about the societal expectations placed on women within this class structure. Were they merely decorative objects, symbols of their husbands’ success? What is absent from this setting? Editor: It does seem like there’s a real emphasis on appearance and social standing. No signs of labour or any actual connection. How can we relate this back to today? Curator: Consider how social media echoes similar performances of status and curated identities. The need for validation, the subtle hierarchies—it’s all still there, isn’t it? We are all neighbours engaging in social performance of some kind. Editor: I see what you mean. The print really reveals so much about that period, not just what people looked like, but also what their values were. Curator: Precisely, and hopefully it allows us to reflect critically on our own values and behaviours too. Art offers so many openings into different modes of thought.