Life — April 21, 1921 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Too Many Superlatives" This cartoon satirizes **Paul Helleu**, a French-American artist and illustrator of the early 20th century. The joke, illustrated by James Montgomery Flagg, mocks Helleu's excessive flattery and hyperbolic praise of women—particularly American women. The caption presents Helleu's exaggerated compliments: he claims to have "picked" a woman, calls another "Sunday I see," and wishes he could "explain" yet another. The visual shows a small male figure (Helleu) surrounded by admirers reading publications with superlatives like "The Weekly Says" and praise about "Beautiful Women of America." The satire targets the contemporary trend of overwrought artistic praise and Helleu's reputation for effusive, insincere compliments toward his society subjects.