Il faut avouer que je viens d'avoir une ... c. 19th century

This is an undated lithograph by Honoré Daumier, a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor, whose work offers commentary on social and political life in 19th-century France. Daumier's caricatures often critiqued the ruling class through satire. Here, we see a clown-like figure gleefully causing ships to sink. Behind him a group of figures watches on. The caption states: “I must admit that I have had a famous idea to submerge my own ships, now I am sure that the French will not sink them!”. Daumier uses the figure of a clown, a traditional symbol of mockery and subversion, to comment on his political reality. Daumier made no bones about his sympathies lying with the working class and those marginalized by society. He used his art as a weapon to challenge the status quo, speaking truth to power through the visual language of satire. His work serves as a reminder of the power of art to expose uncomfortable truths and ignite social change.