Musée comique. Page 15 c. 1835

This is a lithograph, created by the Gebroeders van Lier, though we don’t know precisely when. It’s printed on a humble piece of paper. The very nature of lithography, a planographic process using a flat stone, speaks to its purpose: to reproduce images quickly and inexpensively. The crisp lines and tonal variations that you see are the result of skilled draftsmanship, and transfer to the stone. A greasy crayon is used to draw the image, which is then chemically fixed. The stone is dampened and inked, and then the ink adheres only to the drawn areas and is then printed. The social context here is key: this is a page from a satirical journal, intended for mass consumption. The quick, reproducible nature of lithography meant that such publications could reach a wide audience, commenting on everyday life and social mores. The artistry lies not only in the drawing, but also in the clever deployment of a relatively cheap technology to spread ideas and opinions. The print is an example of democratized aesthetics, where accessibility trumps traditional notions of artistic value. It reminds us that the power of an image lies not only in its beauty, but also in its reach.