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The Cemetery of Still-Born Illusions

Raemaekers, Louis, 1917, Chromolithograph
The Cemetery of Still-Born Illusions
The Cemetery of Still-Born Illusions
The Cemetery of Still-Born Illusions
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Category
Library Item
Item no
32921
Title
The Cemetery of Still-Born Illusions
Description
The accompanying text reads,
"A stroke of genius this satire on the Kaiser's grief, as he kneels, a stricken widower at the grave of the last of his "dearly departed" lost illusions. Deliciously continental, his Imperial Majesty's heavy mourning; his crape "weepers," neck bows, and black kid gloves. There are some telling hits in the picture, such as the lifebuoy used for a funereal wreath, laid on the tombstone of "U-Boat Murders, "and the "Eternal Regrets" for the loss of Paris. With each fresh opportunity of portraying the Kaiser, how admirably the artist succeeds in suggesting the blossoming of latent possibilities in William's versatile character. M. Raemaeker's treatment of his subject, in its juicy humour, here reminds us of Dickens in the pages of "Nicholas Nickleby" and "Great Expectations."
Artist / maker
Date
1917
Size
35.4 x 27.1 cm
Location
Art and Design Library
Copyright
Louis Raemaekaers' drawings are reproduced by kind permission of the Louis Raemaekers Foundation.