Rene Bull - The Old Master

Rene Bull (1870-1942) was a mainstay in British cartooning, working for various publications, including Chums, Printer's Pie, the Tatler, and the Strand. During his time in France (c.1890), Bull took drawing lessons from the great cartoonist Caran D'Ache, and the influence is clearly seen in his work. Rene Bull was the master of the narrative, much on the order of H.M. Bateman. This wonderful cartoon features a British gentleman who thought he put one over on customs, by sneaking a "Rubens" painting in from a foreign land. The joke turns out to be on the signor, who wound up with something less than he bargained for.