"Draw nigh, M. Gérenflot...come to receive the crown of distinction for your good work against poverty..." 1844

Curator: This is an intriguing lithograph by Honoré Daumier, titled "Draw nigh, M. Gérenflot...come to receive the crown of distinction for your good work against poverty..." Editor: The crown looks like a hairpiece, something hastily made. The recipient bows low, almost comical, under its implied weight, and the onlookers seem… skeptical? Curator: Daumier’s critical eye is definitely at play here. The print suggests a performative aspect to charity, highlighting the social currency someone might gain from "combating" poverty. Editor: Exactly! Notice the lithographic process, how Daumier uses line and shading to construct not just forms but also to layer in social commentary, implying that this "good work" is actually…well…not so good. The print itself, being a mass-produced object, critiques the commodification of charity. Curator: I sense that sardonic wit so peculiar to Daumier, that sharp observation of the human condition, where pride and pretense meet reality. Editor: Agreed. And I think examining the materiality reveals the socio-economic realities of 19th-century France and its own poverty.