Life — August 17, 1922 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cover depicts a giant moon-faced figure looming over a Venetian gondola. The moon's features are exaggerated and grotesque—spotted, with a broad grin and prominent eyes. Below, tiny gondoliers navigate their boat while two tourists appear to observe the spectacle. The partial caption reads: "What the Sphins had to put up with" (likely "Sphinxes"). This appears to be satirizing tourism and the romanticization of foreign landscapes. The oversized, almost monstrous moon suggests the absurdity of travelers' fantasies about exotic destinations like Venice. The juxtaposition of the mundane tourists against this fantastical backdrop mocks the gap between tourist expectations and reality—a common theme in 1920s satire about the growing tourist industry.