Le Commerce Atteint de Choléra (Commerce Struck by Cholera)

This hand-colored etching satirizes the collapse of French commerce during the 1832 cholera epidemic and economic crisis. Mercury, god of trade, lies dying at center while government ministers and financiers gesticulate helplessly around him—some offering useless remedies, others profiting from the chaos. The composition descends from 18th-century English satirists like Hogarth and Gillray, who embedded political critique in densely populated, narrative scenes. This print exemplifies how caricature and satirical prints functioned as mass commentary before photography, establishing visual conventions—exaggerated features, symbolic figures, theatrical staging—that would later animate comic strips and political cartoons. The etching's numbered legend identifies specific targets, making it both public spectacle and partisan argument.