Monsieur, Auriez-vous la bonté de me dire ...

The juxtaposition of a confident, muscular bather with a sartorially overdressed observer creates a visual commentary on 19th‑century leisure practices. By placing a gentleman in formal attire within a setting normally reserved for casual recreation, Daumier highlights the social distance between classes and the evolving attitudes toward public recreation and propriety.

Executed as a lithograph, the work relies on the medium’s capacity for fine tonal variation and rapid reproduction.

Executed as a lithograph, the work relies on the medium’s capacity for fine tonal variation and rapid reproduction. Daumier’s line work is economical yet expressive, delineating the figures’ posture and attire with a few decisive strokes, while the contrast between the smooth, flowing lines of the swimmer and the rigid, angular rendering of the dressed man underscores their differing social roles.

Created during Daumée’s prolific period of social satire in the mid‑1800s, the print was circulated among the artist’s contemporaries as part of his broader commentary on Parisian life. It later entered public collections, appearing in several exhibitions that focus on the intersection of sport, public space, and class in nineteenth‑century France.

The image reflects a time when public baths and swimming pools were becoming popular venues for recreation, yet still largely dominated by working‑class patrons. The presence of a formally attired gentleman suggests the gradual infiltration of middle‑ and upper‑class individuals into these spaces, a shift that Daumier observed and subtly critiqued through his work.

Daumier’s lithograph continues to be cited in studies of visual culture for its concise yet pointed critique of social stratification. It exemplifies how print media could disseminate nuanced observations about everyday life, influencing later artists who explored the relationship between public leisure and class identity.