caricature - History, Notable caricaturists

A mock portraiture, usually graphic rather than painted, in which features are exaggerated for humorous or satirical effect. Early practitioners included the Carracci in late 16th-c Bologna. Bernini was a brilliant caricaturist. Modern political caricature was invented in mid-18th-c England (Gillray, Rowlandson), and has flourished ever since. Modern US practitioners include David Levine and Al Hirschfeld.

A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. Caricatures of politicians are commonly used in editorial cartoons, while caricatures of movie stars are often found in entertainment magazines.

with the footnote —

Thus, the word "caricature" essentially means a "loaded portrait". According to caricature teacher Sam Viviano, who stressed this definition of the term in the classes he taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, the term refers only to depictions of real-life people, and not to cartoon fabrications of fictional characters, which do not possess objective sets of physiognomic features to draw upon for reference, or to anthropomorphic depictions of inanimate objects such as automobiles or coffee mugs. Walt Disney on the other hand, equated his animation to caricature, saying the hardest thing to do was find the caricature of an animal that worked best as a human-like character.

History

Some of the earliest caricatures are found in the works of Leonardo da Vinci, who actively sought people with deformities to use as models.

The inventor of caricature as an independent art form was, according to seventeenth century sources, the Bolognese history painter, Annibale Carracci. Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), one of the great early practitioners, was favored by the members of the papal court for his ability to depict the essence of a person in 'three or four strokes.'(In fact, the word caricature comes from the Italian caricare, "to load," i.e., the caricaturist's aim is to invest his image with as much meaning as possible.)

Caricature, therefore, experienced its first successes in the closed aristocratic circles of France and Italy, where the such portraits could be passed about for mutual enjoyment which many people enjoyed.

This aura of privilege (for both those depicted and those viewing the caricature) passed on to England during the middle of the 18th century, when caricature enjoyed its first wave of popularity there. Probably the greatest practitioner of the art of caricature in 18th-century Britain was James Gillray(1757-1815). See the Tate Gallery's exhibit James Gillray: The Art of Caricature

The art form gained further popularity in the early 19th century, when satirical drawings of politicians and local celebrities would be printed in newspapers. Caricatures would often be less than warmly received by their powerful targets, and for many years the art form was one of anonymous mischief.

In the years after World War I the art form experienced a renaissance in the United States, and in some magazines caricatures became more common and in higher demand than actual photographs. The puppet show Spitting Image on British television during the 1980s brought an awareness of caricature to a new generation, combining rod-operated puppets with accurate vocal impressions.

Today, the art of caricature is still around, though nowhere near as prevalent as the "Golden Age" of the 20's and 30's.

Notable caricaturists

See list of caricaturists.

George Cruikshank (1792-1878, British) created political prints that attacked the royal family and leading politicians (in 1820 he received a royal bribe of £100 for a pledge "not to caricature His Majesty (George III of the United Kingdom) in any immoral situation ."

Honoré Daumier (1808-1879, French) is considered by some to be the father of caricature. They were published in the daily French newspapers (Le Charivari, La Caricature etc.)

Thomas Nast (1840-1902, American) was a famous caricaturist and editorial cartoonist in the 19th century and is considered by some to be the father of American political cartooning.

Al Hirschfeld (1903 – 2003, American) was best known for his simple black and white renditions of celebrities and Broadway stars which utilized flowing contour lines over heavy rendering.

Mort Drucker (1929 - , American) Drucker joined Mad magazine in 1957 and has become well known (and revered by some) for his brilliant parodies of movies and television shows.

Robert Risko (1946 – , American) is known for his retro airbrush style.

David Levine (1926 – , American) is noted for his caricatures in the The New York Review of Books and Playboy magazine..

Sam Viviano (1953 – , American) has done much work for corporations and in advertising, having contributed to Rolling Stone Family Weekly, Reader's Digest, Consumer Reports, and Mad, of which he is currently the art director. Viviano’s caricatures are known for their wide jaws, which Viviano has explained is a result of his incorporation of side views as well as front views into his distortions of the human face.

Sebastian Kruger (1963 – , German) is known for his grotesque, yet hyper-realistic distortions of the facial features of celebrities, which he renders primarily in acrylic paint, and for which he has won praise from The Times.

Hermann Mejia (Venezuelan) is known for his frequent work for MAD Magazine.

Jan Op De Beeck has published several books on caricature and was named "World's Best Caricaturist" in 2003 by a group of professional cartoonists in Iran.