Life, 1921-03-31 · page 9 of 34
Life — March 31, 1921 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical cartoon by Tengren depicts Leonardo da Vinci inspecting his wheelbarrow invention 449 years prior (dating this article to 1492). The joke centers on **Mona Lisa's exhaustion**: the famous portrait appears framed on the wall behind da Vinci, while a woman in the foreground—presumably the Mona Lisa model—poses irritably surrounded by art supplies and debris. The satire mocks Leonardo's legendary perfectionism and the model's ordeal sitting for his famous painting. The text suggests her "arduous task of posing" was perhaps more burdensome than da Vinci's mechanical inventions. The wheelbarrow itself becomes ironic commentary: while Leonardo created this practical device, his artistic demands left his model literally worn out, suggesting some inventions matter less than others.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| n the t there ith the a com- moves She is ind her . She having Her order on the xpect? She taining ncheon sh can 5 very h for Unfamiliar Anniversaries —No. 1. By TENGGREN The Invention of the Wheelbarrow. T was exactly four hundred and thirty-nine years ago (this ¢ate) that Leonardo da Vinci completed the invention of the wheelbarrow. He is here seen inspecting the finished work, and one may deduce from his dejected attitude that he is far from satisfied with the practical but homely result of his effort. Possibly he is Wondering what he is going to do with it; or, again, possibly te is imagining the vastness of the odium which will be cast tpn him by vindictive persons who will fall over future wheel- tarrows in future woodsheds in the future dark. A distinctly human touch is lent to the ensemble by the presence, in the background, of the model who is resting her features after the arduous task of posing for the “ Mona Lisa.” If you are under the impression that her duties were not arduous, just try to hold that enigmatic smile yourself for two hours, and see how you like it. That this model took little (or no) interest in the great mastet’s novel mechanical achievement is attested by the some- what blank expression on her countenance; but doubtless she would have displayed the same amount of exasperating in- difference had he just invented the fireless cooker, the mustache cup, or the one-man top. Moreover, knowing what she did about Leonardo's home life, one can scarcely blame her. comicbooks.com