"Careful...my friend...that animal may be a bad one!" 1858

Editor: So this is Honoré Daumier's "Careful...my friend...that animal may be a bad one!". It's a print, and it definitely feels like a commentary on class. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Daumier was a master of social satire. This lithograph, likely published in a journal, is a pointed critique of the bourgeoisie and their attempts to mimic aristocratic pursuits like hunting. Notice the contrast between their attire and the rather pathetic quarry. Editor: So the humor comes from their overblown concern? Curator: Precisely! It's a commentary on their anxieties and pretensions. The image plays on the public’s perception of the wealthy as both ridiculous and out of touch. What do you make of the fleeing figure in the background? Editor: I hadn't noticed him, interesting, maybe an actual hunter annoyed by them? Thanks, I'll definitely look at Daumier's work differently now.