“Pardon me, Mayor.... would you please be so kind to tell me whether swimming is allowed here?,” plate 25 from Les Baigneurs 1840

Honoré Daumier made this lithograph, “Pardon me, Mayor.... would you please be so kind to tell me whether swimming is allowed here?,” in 19th-century France. The print depicts a scene of social awkwardness, ripe with the anxieties of modernity. Daumier was a master of social satire, and in this image, he uses caricature to comment on the growing middle class and its relationship to leisure and public space. The bather’s question to the mayor exposes underlying tensions: is access to recreation a right, or is it subject to the permission of local authority? Notice the discomfort of the fully clothed couple. The naked bather challenges the notion of proper conduct that the bourgeoisie impose on themselves. To fully understand Daumier’s art, we need to consider publications like “Le Charivari,” for which he produced many prints. By researching the social and political context of his time, we gain insight into how Daumier challenged the norms of his society and questioned the role of institutions in shaping everyday life.