Broadside with 48 scenes showing extravagances of the world 1855 - 1865

Editor: This is "Broadside with 48 scenes showing extravagances of the world," made between 1855 and 1865. It's a print—etching and engraving—by Juan Llorens, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There’s so much to look at! It reminds me a bit of a cartoon strip, with all these tiny scenes. What do you see in it? Curator: It is indeed a rich tapestry of social commentary, echoing the visual language of its time. What strikes me is how it uses the symbolic weight of everyday scenarios to critique societal "extravagances." Consider the image's repetitive structure, where each frame becomes a microcosm reflecting larger cultural trends. Have you considered the emotional through-line? Editor: I guess each scene is like a little story, and together they build a bigger picture… sort of a commentary on life at the time? But it is a comic. What symbols were commonly understood back then that we might be missing now? Curator: Precisely. These scenes leverage shared cultural memories, understood instantly by the contemporary viewer. Look at the recurring motifs—leisure, commerce, domestic life. What narrative do these scenes construct? Think about how it reflects broader concerns about wealth, status, and moral values during this historical moment. Each character, action, or location becomes imbued with connotative meaning that reinforces or subverts contemporary cultural norms. Editor: That's helpful – the cultural context is key. It is interesting how even a funny comic drawing like this reveals those serious social considerations! Curator: Yes, each image operates on multiple layers—offering humorous observations, yet subtly reinforcing established ideologies. Studying images as carrier of emotions helps understand people across different times. Editor: It’s amazing how much you can learn from what at first just looks like a cartoon! Thank you!