A satirical lithograph by Cham from 1849, depicting the transition from the political turbulence of 1848 to the uncertainty of the new year.

This lithograph by the French caricaturist Cham, born Amédée de Noé, appeared in the Parisian satirical journal Le Charivari in 1849. The image depicts a personified figure of the year 1848 as an elderly, dishevelled woman carrying a heavy sack labelled '1848' on her back. Within this sack, several small figures representing the political factions of the time, including 'Socialisme', are huddled together. The woman walks away from a young child in a high chair, who is labelled '1849'.

Cham was a prolific contributor to Le Charivari, a publication known for its biting social and political commentary. This work captures the anxieties of the French public following the Revolution of 1848. The transition from the tumultuous events of 1848 to the uncertainty of 1849 is rendered through the artist's characteristic use of grotesque exaggeration and symbolic shorthand. The woman, representing the departing year, carries the weight of the previous year's political failures and radical ideologies. The child, representing the new year, sits in a domestic setting, suggesting a fragile beginning for the new political order.

Technically, the print displays the fluid, expressive line work typical of mid-nineteenth-century lithography. Cham uses cross-hatching to create depth and texture, particularly in the woman's tattered clothing and the heavy sack. The composition is balanced, with the departing figure moving towards the right, leaving the viewer to contemplate the implications of the transition. This piece provides a window into the visual culture of the Second Republic, where satire functioned as a primary medium for public discourse. The print remains a record of the political climate in France during a period of rapid change, capturing the cynicism and apprehension felt by many citizens as they navigated the aftermath of revolutionary upheaval.