Encore perdu en Cour Royale... et il se lamente... 1848

Curator: This lithograph, created in 1848 by Honoré Daumier, is titled "Encore perdu en Cour Royale... et il se lamente..." a lament that translates roughly to "Still lost in Royal Court... and he laments..." The piece is rendered in pen and ink. Editor: It's such a melancholy group. You have this huddle of dark-robed figures, but instead of gravitas, there's just a weight of sadness or frustration hanging over them. Curator: Absolutely. The composition, typical of Daumier, serves to critique and satirize French society. Those robes, those stern faces...they're not just garments and expressions, are they? They symbolize the entire legal establishment. Editor: Precisely! The robes immediately signify authority, yet the hunched postures and anxious expressions betray vulnerability. It’s an ancient trope, dressing figures to embody specific qualities. What makes it work, I think, is that visual tension between what's projected and what simmers beneath the surface. Their postures and weary faces certainly evoke a feeling of helplessness in the face of injustice. Curator: Yes, and even more explicitly, there is a playfulness that lets him offer that criticism. He takes aim not at people, per se, but at a concept, and an inflated one at that. The humor allows us to feel okay laughing along. Editor: Humor certainly softens the blow. But what about the recurring symbolism of justice as blind, impartial? Here, the faces, so individualized and frankly, a bit pathetic, suggest justice is anything but. It’s skewed and tired and well... human. Curator: Right. It’s as though Daumier is stripping away the pomp to show us the flawed human machinery beneath. We see ourselves, even in these caricatures, which can be deeply unsettling. Editor: It’s interesting how a few strokes of ink can reveal such a profound truth, such a clear picture. Looking closely has almost peeled back the layers of performance surrounding authority and power.