Robert-Macaire in conversation with Bertrand before a print shop window

This lithograph depicts two con men surveying prints in a shop window, part of a serial satire on the criminal schemer Robert-Macaire. The composition exemplifies the tradition of French popular caricature descended from Gillray and Rowlandson: sharp psychological observation of lower-class rogues rendered through exaggerated physiognomy and gesture. The crowded urban setting and costumed figures establish narrative in a single frame. Macaire's theatrical pose—hand to chest—contrasts with Bertrand's calculating slouch. The print shop window functions as both literal setting and meta-commentary on the print trade itself, positioning the work within the flourishing commercial culture of satirical lithography that directly preceded the comic strip.