They're Fighting Over It!
1903
Félix Vallotton's sharp 1903 illustration captures a hilarious political tug-of-war, where a smug man is physically stretched between a medal-bedecked dignitary and a military officer pulling his coat tails. The title 'On se l'Arrache!' (Everyone's fighting over him!) satirizes the fierce conflict between Church and State in France, a hot topic just before the 1905 separation law. The caption 'Without the Pope, I was torn apart' adds a layer of irony, suggesting this bourgeois fellow is barely holding together as powerful institutions fight for control. Vallotton, a master of the Nabis movement, used these stark black-and-white contrasts to mock political chaos and ego.
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