Life — June 12, 1919 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Watteau Rhyme" — Life Magazine Satire This is a whimsical illustrated poem by Tudor Jenks satirizing romantic French pastoral conventions. The narrative follows Pierrot (a stock character from French comedy—the lovesick clown) and Pierrette (a coquettish maiden) on a romantic boating excursion. The satire mocks the artificiality of idealized romance: despite Pierrot's earnest declarations and betting he'll catch fish to impress her, Pierrette remains indifferent. She ultimately "wins" the wager—catching Pierrot himself instead of fish—suggesting that calculated feminine charm defeats sincere male devotion. The ornate Watteau-inspired illustrations frame this gently cynical commentary on courtship rituals, dressed in the veneer of elegant 18th-century French aesthetics that Life's educated readers would recognize as deliberately overwrought.