Up there
1905
Imagine God and the Virgin Mary hanging out on a cloud, checking the attendance sheet for heaven. In this 1905 illustration by Fernand Louis Gottlob, the Almighty—sporting an all-seeing eye on his robe—peers through binoculars and complains to Mary, 'Say, Marie, we don't have a big crowd tonight?' Mary, holding baby Jesus, dryly replies, 'What do you expect, Father, even the greatest successes eventually run out!' It's a hilarious bit of Art Nouveau satire that pokes fun at religious attendance, drawn with swift, confident strokes that capture the figures' weary expressions perfectly.
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