That Which Proves that if You Are on Patrol, You Should Never Go by Your Own Home c. 19th century

Curator: This lithograph by Honoré Daumier carries the weighty title, "That Which Proves that if You Are on Patrol, You Should Never Go by Your Own Home." Editor: My first thought? Utter dread. The heavy lines evoke a downpour, a claustrophobic alley, a moment when your deepest secret might be revealed. Curator: Daumier was a master of social commentary, and this likely pokes fun at the bourgeoisie's foibles during a time of political unrest in France. Notice the wide-eyed panic on that one guard's face, maybe he recognizes someone in that lit window? Editor: Absolutely! It's that instant realization that your private life, usually hidden, is suddenly exposed to the very authority you represent. Are those the curtains slightly drawn? Is somebody peeking? Curator: It's the tension between public duty and private life made visual. Daumier really understood the everyday anxieties of 19th-century Parisians. Editor: It makes you think, doesn't it? What compromises do we make when we put on a uniform, literal or metaphorical? Curator: Precisely! A clever piece that continues to resonate, long after its original context.