Life — March 4, 1920 — page 21: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical comparison imagining how famous Renaissance and Old Master painters would have drawn if they'd created comic strips for Sunday newspapers. Each panel pairs a master artist's name with a humorous domestic or artistic scene: - **Rembrandt**: Shows figure with telescope/surveying equipment - **Van Dyck**: Depicts someone with a goat and attendants - **Millet**: Features a child with guitar and singing figure - **Michel Angelo**: Shows cherubs and a reclining figure - **Hals**: Woman and child with musical instrument - **Whistler**: Man arranging or viewing pictures on a wall The satire mocks both the masters' distinctive styles and the lowbrow nature of newspaper comics, suggesting these high-art figures placed in commercial comic strip scenarios. It's period humor about the gap between fine art and popular entertainment.