![](http://www.tumblr.com/share/photo?source=http%3A%2F%2Flibbymurphy.com%2Fhumancomedy%2Fstorage%2Fcache%2Fimages%2F000%2F001%2F19441897%2Clarge.jpg%3F1382211396&caption=%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Ca href="http%3A%2F%2Flibbymurphy.com%2Fhumancomedy%2Falbums%2Fkeeping-up-with-the-leisure-class%2Fcontent%2Fvoyez-vous-bourgeois%2F" title="Voyez-vous bourgeois"%3EVoyez-vous bourgeois%3C/a%3E%3C/strong%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EHonoré Daumier
(French, 1808–1879)
Voyez vous bourgeois, vous êtes justement dans l’age et dans la force... (You see, boss, you’re of precisely the right age and shape...), 1839
Lithograph
General Acquisitions Fund, 1944.189.7
Swimming baths in the Seine were popular in Paris, and Daumier frequented them regularly. Here, a typically rotund bourgeois, who wears a swim belt and stands at the edge of a pool, talks with his swim instructor. “Bourgeois” was a term used by service providers, especially cabbies, to refer to their patrons. It translates roughly as “boss.”
— Voyez vous bourgeois, vous êtes justement dans l’age et dans la force ; quand un homme est taillé comme vous et qu’il se soutient sur l’eau, ca flatte un professeur. Prenez des le-cons, coupez les de petits verres, et vous irez chouettement !
— You see, boss, you’re of precisely the right age and shape; when a man is built like you and can hold himself afloat in the water, it’s flattering for a swim instructor. Take a few lessons, drink a glass or two in between, and you’ll get on wonderfully!
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The Human Comedy: Chronicles of 19th-Century France
Voyez-vous bourgeois
Honoré Daumier (French, 1808–1879) Voyez vous bourgeois, vous êtes justement dans l’age et dans la force... (You see, boss, you’re of precisely the right age and shape...), 1839 Lithograph General Acquisitions Fund, 1944.189.7
Swimming baths in the Seine were popular in Paris, and Daumier frequented them regularly. Here, a typically rotund bourgeois, who wears a swim belt and stands at the edge of a pool, talks with his swim instructor. “Bourgeois” was a term used by service providers, especially cabbies, to refer to their patrons. It translates roughly as “boss.”
— Voyez vous bourgeois, vous êtes justement dans l’age et dans la force ; quand un homme est taillé comme vous et qu’il se soutient sur l’eau, ca flatte un professeur. Prenez des le-cons, coupez les de petits verres, et vous irez chouettement !
— You see, boss, you’re of precisely the right age and shape; when a man is built like you and can hold himself afloat in the water, it’s flattering for a swim instructor. Take a few lessons, drink a glass or two in between, and you’ll get on wonderfully!