Nationality
French
Artist Dates
1808-1879
Title of Work
Preview
Date of Work
1842
Medium
Lithograph
Signature
Initialed in the lithographic stone.
Collection/Provenance
University Art Collections: Lilly Jacobson Collection, Art & Design Dept.
Status
Displayed
Location
UND Art Collections Gallery at the Empire Arts Center
Additional Information
Series: Bohémiens de Paris
Published in Le Charivari
Original text: LA GARDE-MALADE. Décidément, il n'y a que les fruitières pour vous procurer de belles connaissances. Un épileptique, un hydrophobe et une folle!..... si l'épicier pouvait me faire avoir avec ça la maladie de poitrine qu'il m'a promise, c'est ça qui me ferait joliment du bien!
During the mid-19th century, nurses were not yet professionally trained and most came from working-class or rural backgrounds. According the caption, the nurse eagerly seeks an income while disregarding potential health risks to herself—perhaps, due to her ignorance about contagious diseases.
Daumier did not write the captions to go with his lithographs, which might lead to questions about the specific intent behind some of his images. The nurse portrayed in this print appeared elsewhere, both as a custodian and as a prostitute, with different captions for each.
Included in the Honoré Daumier III: Law, Medicine, and Social Satire exhibition, 2018.