What the devil could he really have in this thicket? ...Maybe it's a tiger?... 1854

Curator: This is an intriguing lithograph by Honoré Daumier. It's titled "What the devil could he really have in this thicket? ...Maybe it's a tiger?..." Editor: My immediate thought is fear—not just the obvious visual depiction, but something more primal, linked to what the forest has always represented in our collective unconscious. Curator: Yes, look at the caricature of the hunters. Daumier critiques the bourgeoisie through his recurring motif of the hunt as a symbol of their futile pursuits. The lithographic process, a relatively cheap means of reproduction, allowed for wide dissemination of his social commentary. Editor: And the tiger—or the *idea* of the tiger—becomes a potent symbol of the unknown. The irrational fear is almost comical but taps into something deep. Consider the broader cultural context of the hunt. Curator: Absolutely. This would have been circulated as part of a series in a Parisian journal, reaching a broad audience invested in the political implications of imagery. The labor of producing these images made Daumier into something of a hero for the working class. Editor: Exactly, and the artist's choice of medium, lithography, lends a certain rawness that enhances the image's emotional impact, tapping into deeper anxieties. Well, that certainly gives a fresh perspective on a familiar subject. Curator: Indeed. It really highlights the confluence of material conditions and cultural anxieties at play in Daumier’s work.