L'Hotel des Haricots (the National Guard prison) 1843

Editor: This is "L'Hotel des Haricots (the National Guard prison)" by Honoré Daumier. It's a print, and the composition feels so theatrical, almost like a stage play. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a commentary on power and its abuses, rendered visible through the materiality of print. Consider how mass production allowed Daumier to circulate this critique widely, implicating the very system he satirizes. What sort of labor went into making this available? Editor: So, you’re saying the print itself is part of the message? Curator: Exactly. The process makes his point about the system. It invites us to think about who benefits, and who labors. What do you make of its accessibility? Editor: I never thought about it that way. I'm thinking of printmaking as a medium of social commentary and action.