"What,... Can it be true! ...We'll soon have cheap beef and veal at the shops?" 1857

Editor: This is a lithograph by Honoré Daumier titled "What,... Can it be true! ...We'll soon have cheap beef and veal at the shops?". It looks like a commentary on social class through the lens of the market. What can you tell me about the material context of this print? Curator: The lithographic process itself is key. Daumier's mastery allowed for mass production and dissemination of social critiques to a wide audience, challenging established power structures through accessibility. Think about the labor involved in producing these prints versus, say, an oil painting for the elite. Editor: So, the medium itself is part of the message? Curator: Precisely! It shifts art away from exclusive consumption towards a broader engagement with the realities of daily life and economic concerns. The cheap meat becomes a symbol of societal anxieties about labor and capital. Editor: That’s fascinating. I hadn’t considered the social implications of the printing process itself.