Adolphe Léon Willette (1857-1926)

Rastus on Parade

Lithograph

France

N.p.

circa 1900-1910

Image approx. 19 1/4 x 12 9/16 in., mounted to cardstock 20 x 14 1/4 in.

A satirical right-wing antisemitic and anti-Black caricature that disparages several groups. Designed by French illustrator and polemicist Adolphe Willette, the title refers to a minstrel song "Rastus on Parade," with Rastus used as a derogatory name associated with American stereotypes intended to mock Black men. Indeed, one of the figures is a stereotypical Black minstrel figure with overly large lips playing a banjo. At center, the artist includes an antisemitic portrait of a Jewish man holding a Talmud scroll above his head; another figure donning Masonic regalia and a menorah follows behind. The parade is filled out with a French suffragette, a Brit holding "The Bible of Old England" (possibly representing the translation controversies of the early 20th century), and a blindfolded man being led to his Court Martial by a group of uniformed soldiers. 

The lithograph has been taken from one of the many illustrated periodicals that Willette contributed to throughout his career, including Le Rire, Les Enmerdeurs, and L'Assiette au Beurre. 

[Lithographs, Ephemera, Illustration, Antisemitism, Propaganda]