Scene of a Strike (third plate) c. 1897

Jean-Louis Forain sketched this lithograph titled, "Scene of a Strike" sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century in France. Forain lived through a period of intense social and political upheaval, marked by the rise of industrialization and growing class tensions. Here we see a stark visual representation of a labor dispute. The artist illustrates a crowd of striking workers, their faces etched with a mixture of hope and weariness, and their bodies merge into an anonymous mass, emphasizing their collective identity. In the foreground, a bourgeois figure stands on a mound, addressing the crowd, his attire sharply contrasting with the workers. Forain does not explicitly reveal his stance, but the image subtly captures the emotional weight of the scene, inviting us to reflect on the human cost of industrial progress. The print captures a moment of social tension, reflecting the struggle for dignity and justice amidst the sweeping changes of the modern era.