Beautifications of Paris...The Court of the Louvre 1850

Editor: This is Honoré Daumier's "Beautifications of Paris...The Court of the Louvre." The lithograph seems to critique urban renewal. What's your perspective on Daumier's focus here? Curator: Consider the materiality of printmaking itself. Daumier mass-produced these images, democratizing critique. His labor mirrors the workers' labor in the scene. Editor: So, it’s about the process of making and consuming art, not just the image itself? Curator: Exactly! The act of distributing these critiques challenges the very system he depicts, highlighting the consumption of "beautification" for the elites. Editor: That gives me a new way to understand it. Thanks!