Cover design for ''What An Afternoon!'', Comic Song 

This chromolithograph by Alfred Concanen is a cover design for “What An Afternoon!”, a comic song by Charles Collette. The artwork is dominated by two figures set within an interior, each rendered with a caricature-like exaggeration. The composition is striking. Concanen uses a shallow depth of field, flattening the space and focusing our attention on the immediate foreground. The color palette is subdued, dominated by browns and muted reds, which lends the image a slightly antiquated feel. Lines are crisp and definitive, outlining the figures and objects with precision. The contrast between the seated figure's patterned trousers and the standing figure's solid attire creates a visual tension, drawing our eyes back and forth. The structure of this cover operates as a semiotic system. The figures, with their exaggerated features and attire, serve as signs pointing to broader cultural codes of humor and entertainment. The interior setting, with its bourgeois decor, signifies a particular social milieu. The composition is not merely decorative; it actively participates in constructing meaning.