DAUMIER, H. - Scènes grotesques. Soyez donc poli-i…(Plate 1)

Translation in English of title text: Be polite, you uneducated flail…(Lesson in juvenile civility and honest courtesy)..
The old gentleman is slapping the young boy whose hat fell in front of the man’s feet. This used to be considered impolite and uneducated. It was quite customary at that time that people would criticize the manners of the younger generation and lay hands on their education even if they were not related.
SCÈNES GROTESQUES (Grotesque scenes) is a series of 6 lithographs, which were published in the Charivari between June 19 and November 29, 1839.
Exaggeration, and physical distortion are typical signs of real caricatures and have been used by Daumier throughout this series. The grotesque is underlined by over-size heads and small bodies, a technique, which was later copied and developed further by André Gill.