Those in Robes
1905
Fernand Louis Gottlob captures a tense legal consultation in this 1905 illustration, 'Ceux en robe' (Those in Robes). A bearded judge gestures emphatically while explaining a harsh verdict to a younger lawyer in a blue robe, who rests his chin on his hand in contemplation. The handwritten caption at the bottom reveals the satire: 'What do you want, Master, your client is a perfectly honest man, but we are forced to condemn him, it's the law!' It’s a classic jab at the French justice system, where the rigid letter of the law often trumps common sense, rendered in Gottlob's signature loose, expressive style typical of the Art Nouveau era's illustrative works.
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