The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-12-03
ART OF CARICATURE
EVOLUTION AND l&FLUENcE OF THE
NEWSPAPER CARTOON.

The Ancient Greeks, Romans ana
Egyptians Csed Grotesquc Pictures
to Emphasize Their Satire - The
Eighteenth Century Craze.
The story is told of an able Of the
seventeenth century who was as de-
formed in figure as he was ridiculous
in dress. and as sensitive about his
physical deformity as be was vain Of
his eccentric attire, that while serving
mass one morning he observed a smile
Of contempt on the face of one Of the
courtiers present and determined to
ayenge himself by serving a process
upon him for appearance in court the
following day.
The offender, NJ. de Lasson by name,
knowing that things would go hard
with him unless he could show some
reason for his mirth, made hasty
sketch of the hunchback able, exag-
gerating in size the six black caps and
the waistcoats in which he was won't
to appear, and when he was solemnly~
asked to show cause for his unseemly
mirth and indignity to the holy church
he suddenly displayed before his judges
the caricature Of the able as his Eek
cuse." The likeness was so excellent
and the cartoon so grotesque that the.
entire court fell to laughing, and the
accused was liberated without a rep-i-
mand.
This is the first authentic case Of the
power Of the cartoon in hall Of JUS
ice, but it illustrates the power Of the
pencil in depicting the follies Of the
foolish and the afectations Of the art-
fcial.
There is no telling when the art Of
caricature began. There are number
of grotesques that have come down to
rs from earliest Egyptian times. The
Greeks employed pictures to emphasize.
their satire, and SO did tie Romans.
All through the middle ages there were
numberless examples of '.grotesque-
ries'' which, curiously enough, were
used in enforcing the doctrines Of the
church by means Of satirizing the devil.
But the eighteenth century was the
heyday of the cartoon.
Beginningin in France and oyerrunning
into Holland and thence across the
channel into England, the flood Of carl,
caturists carried everything before it,
and it is safe to say that we read the
history of the times with clearer vision
and with more accuracy of detail for
the mirror which caricaturists held Up
to reflect the striking peculiarities OF
the men and events passing before It.
Gautier mentions a Spanish cartoon
ist, Francisco Gaya y Lucientes, mix.
ture of Rembrandt. Vatican and Ra-
belais, who preceded the two great car
icaturists Of the latter half Of the,
eighteenth century. George Cruikshank'
in England and N. Charlet in France.
Charlet is known as the father Of mod
ern social caricature and holds as good
title to his position as does Philipau tos
that Of the father of comic Journalism,
with LIE Cbariyari. the strongest paper
of its kind. Then came Punch in Eng
land, which still retains its subtitle OF
the London Charivari. for years the
faithful if not the most highly polished
reflector Of British life. Upon its staff
John Leech. Richard Doyle, John Fen
MEL. George Gu Maurier and a dozen
men of lesser name kept Great Britain
in good humor for two generations.
It has been reserved for America,
however, to bring forth new race Of
caricaturists. which for lack Of better
title may be called the personal carr
toocists. men who seize upon the char
acteristics of an individual and so ex-
aggerate them that the subjects Of the
cartoons are known by the most prozal,--
nent features in their physical. mental
or moral makeup.
True there was one man in London a.
hundred years ago. Gillray by name,
who had this faculty Of dissecting his
subject until he found his weakest
point and then numerically pricking it
with his drawing pencil. but with him
the race died out. to be reincarnated IN
America. Gillray was a close observer
of people and events He would sit in
his publishers window and watch the
fops Of the court as they passed and
fasten in his memory every feature by
which a man would be recognized by
his acuuaintances. He remembered eE-
cry story that related to the traits Of
character of those in the public eye.
and the St lanes street Of 1850 Is
faithfully reproduced in his art
Perhaps we Americans look at the
droll side of life more than other peo-a
Die, but certain it is we have more and
better cartoonists than elsewhere. The
very ouickness with which we see the
point of joke demands equal facility
in portraying drollery in cartoon. We
sketch boldly and leave much of the
unnecessary detail to our slower cous-
ms. Then. too. our public events hap
pen With such startling rapidity that
cartoon Of yesterdays doings would be
fat today. and we must keep very
ro,,ot a,;y.a .nd liza ready for 8 political