A satire on the 1906 elections in France - Durand was an actual candidate - commenting on the various hues of political opinion in the country. There was no actual artist named Rapain, but a 'rapin' was the term for a junior dogsbody in an artist's studio. Part of the text reads literally: 'Knights of the Brush to the Rescue!', perhaps inferring that some of the candidates lack conviction, since elsewhere the words read that the various political colours can really be highlighted by an artist!