The Wasp — 1876 — page 111: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical comic strip showing eight panels labeled with musical terms (Silentium, Introduzione, Scherzo, Adagio, Adagio con Centimento, Piano, Smorzando, Capriccioso). The cartoon depicts a music professor attempting to teach or demonstrate musical concepts to a rural countryman. Each panel illustrates different musical movements through exaggerated physical comedy—the figures twist, contort, and struggle with a piano or musical instrument. The satire appears to mock either pretentious classical music instruction or the absurdity of trying to educate an unsophisticated audience in refined artistic pursuits. The use of Italian musical terminology contrasts humorously with the crude, physical chaos depicted in each scene. The subtitle "(To be continued)" suggests this was an ongoing satirical series in The Wasp.