178 - Franz Graf von Pocci (1807 – Munich – 1876), The Dream of the State Hemorrhoidarius.

Franz Graf von Pocci (1807 – Munich – 1876), The Dream of the State Hemorrhoidarius. Blue and brown ink on cardboard. (c. 1845). Approx. 22 x 17.5 cm. Titled in brown pen in the upper left corner. Inscribed “by Franz Graf von Pocci” on the reverse by another hand. The individual figures are labeled. The core of the illustrated story “Staatshämorrhoidarius,” which Franz von Pocci published in the *Fliegende Blätter* beginning in 1845, lies in its satirical examination of the civil service and bureaucracy. In an exaggerated manner, a civil servant is portrayed who—based on actual or imagined gastrointestinal ailments—qualifies as the “Staatshämorrhoidarius” and thus achieves a grotesque rise through the ranks of the administrative apparatus. Provenance: Private collection, Southern Germany. Taxation: subject to differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme).