The Cigars 1842

Editor: Here we have "The Cigars" by Célestin Nanteuil. It features a group of men smoking, and there's an odd sense of camaraderie mixed with melancholy. What leaps out at you when you see this? Curator: It strikes me as a study in contrasts, doesn't it? The figures are drawn with such precise detail, yet there's a looseness, almost a dreamlike quality to the scene. A lobster hanging on the wall? Is it reality or a shared hallucination fueled by tobacco? Editor: A shared hallucination! That’s a thought! It makes me wonder about the social rituals around smoking. Curator: Absolutely. Perhaps Nanteuil is hinting at the way these rituals blur the lines between the real and the imagined, inviting us to consider the stories we tell ourselves and each other. I guess I’ll think twice next time I light up a cigar, or not!