The Foresighted One of the Future
1907
Fernand Gottlob’s 1907 sketch serves up a delicious slice of Belle Époque satire. A younger woman in a ruffled dress embraces an older, balding gentleman, kissing his forehead with apparent devotion. The handwritten caption reveals the cheeky punchline: 'Oh darling! How nature has spoiled me, by leaving me so much room to prove my love!' She is literally referring to the vast expanse of his bald head as a canvas for her affection. The title, 'The Provident Woman,' hints that she’s securing her future with this older match, while Gottlob pokes fun at the pragmatic, perhaps transactional, nature of relationships in Parisian high society.