Judge, 1887-12-10 · page 16 of 16
Judge — December 10, 1887 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge cartoon satirizes theatrical marketing practices of the era. A young visitor (labeled "Young Fireboot," suggesting he's unfamiliar with the city) mistakes the elaborate artwork decorating a theater vestibule for a genuine art gallery. He asks an attendant about Munkacsy's famous painting "Christ before Pilate," assuming he's in a museum. The attendant corrects him—he's at the Bon Ton theatre, not an art museum. The joke targets theaters that decorated their lobbies and entrances with ornate, respectable-looking artwork to appear cultured and upscale, when they were primarily commercial entertainment venues. The satire mocks both theaters' pretensions to artistic legitimacy and the confusion this affectation could create. The elaborate architectural details and framed paintings visible in the illustration reinforce this theme of theaters masquerading as refined artistic spaces.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HOSE ARTISTIC THEATRE VESTIBULES. Yousa Frvenour (who is somewhat of a stranger in the city)— Is Munkacsy’s picture, ‘Christ before Pilate,’ on exhibition here?” Arrespaxt—‘‘ I don't know anything about a Pilot, sir; but you're on the wrong track, sir. This is the vestibule of the Bon Ton theatre!” comicbooks.com