Oh! la... tant mieux... ça prouve qu'elle vient! 1847

Curator: Honoré Daumier created this lithograph, “Oh! la... tant mieux... ça prouve qu'elle vient!,” in 1847, part of a series portraying "Les Bons Bourgeois." Editor: Oof, talk about a bad day at the dentist! The raw emotion captured here—that exaggerated, open-mouthed grimace—it’s instantly relatable, even across centuries. You can practically feel the discomfort. Curator: Daumier wields caricature as social critique, and his "good bourgeois" are often figures of fun. It’s important to note the print appeared during a period of significant social and political upheaval in France, so this isn't just dental work. Editor: Absolutely, there’s a deeper satirical layer. The subject’s obvious distress is almost slapstick funny. The rigid posture in that chair just heightens the awkwardness and suggests, maybe, a certain societal rigidity too? The artist really manages to convey the suffering! Curator: Exactly. This work exposes class anxieties of the era, and invites viewers to consider how power dynamics manifest even in ostensibly banal, domestic spaces like a dental appointment. It speaks to the discomfort inherent in the societal hierarchies of the 19th century. The fact that he is being tended to, potentially by someone from a lower class, adds an element of social critique. Editor: I think the way the lithograph medium lends itself to strong contrasts really heightens the emotional intensity. The lines, especially around the patient’s face, feel almost frantic. Is that a tear welling? It really pulls you in. Maybe this piece tells the audience a great deal about its creator, and what kind of anxieties Daumier may have held himself at this time. Curator: It makes you think about anxieties experienced by different people today too. Thinking about modern issues like healthcare, gender dynamics, and access to resources can illuminate how different historical struggles mirror and depart from the contemporary moment. Editor: Yeah, definitely not something I expected to get out of what seems like a simple little tooth-pulling scene! I’m never going to look at lithographs the same way, and may feel less concerned next time I go for my own dental check up.