This 1916 illustration from La Baïonnette, drawn by Gerda Wegener, turns wartime paranoia into social farce. Three women lean together in exaggerated secrecy while two dachshunds move anxiously below them—literal punchlines to the caption’s warning that “they have ears.”
The image captures an atmosphere shaped less by official authority than by rumor and suspicion. Wegener exaggerates fashion and posture alike, stretching bodies into caricature while preserving the delicacy of watercolor and line. The preserved oval frame reinforces the sense of a composed illustration plate, exposing how quickly fear reorganizes everyday social life under pressure.
This 1916 illustration from La Baïonnette, drawn by Gerda Wegener, turns wartime paranoia into social farce. Three women lean together in exaggerated secrecy while two dachshunds move anxiously below them—literal punchlines to the caption’s warning that “they have ears.”
The image captures an atmosphere shaped less by official authority than by rumor and suspicion. Wegener exaggerates fashion and posture alike, stretching bodies into caricature while preserving the delicacy of watercolor and line. The preserved oval frame reinforces the sense of a composed illustration plate, exposing how quickly fear reorganizes everyday social life under pressure.
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