Life — May 15, 1890 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "The Plague of Tan" This illustration depicts a classical allegorical scene satirizing an apparent fashion or social trend of the era. A female figure (likely personifying Fashion or a social ideal) gestures from a columned structure overlooking a city, while frogs and toads plague the landscape below—suggesting the "plague of tan" referenced in the caption. The cartoon appears to mock either: 1. An excessive tanning fad among women, or 2. A trend toward darker complexions or sun-exposed skin that the cartoonist viewed as undesirable or ridiculous The classical framing and biblical plague imagery (evoking Egypt's plagues) suggests Life magazine treated this social phenomenon with absurdist humor, treating a cosmetic trend as a literal catastrophe worthy of mythological condemnation. The satire targets contemporary beauty standards and their perceived foolishness.