The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1902-06-06
ART OF CARICATURE
EVOLUTION AND INFLUENCE or THE
NEWSPAPER CARTOON.
The Ancient Greeks, Romans and
Egyptians Used Grotesque Pictures
10 Emphasize Their satire - The
Eighteenth Century Crnze.

| 10 Emphasike Their satire - The
Eighteenth Century Crnze.
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 he was vain or
his eccentric attire, that while serving
mass one morning he observed smile
Of contempt on the face Of one OF the
courtlcrs present and determined 10
aycnge himself by serving process
upon him for appearance In court the
following day
The offender. NJ. de LassOn by name,
knowing that things would 20 hard
with him unless he could show some
reason for his mrth, made hasty
sketch Of the huhchback abbe, exag-
gerating In size the six black caps and
the wagtcoats I'm which he was wont
10 appear, and when he was sOlemnly
asked 10 show cause for his unseemly
mlrth aud indgnity 90 the holy church
he suddenly displayed before his Judges
the caricature OF the able as his tex
and the cartoon so grotesque that W.
entire court fell TO laughing, and the
accused was liberated without a repri'
mand.
This Is the first authentic case OF the
power Of the cartoon In hall Of JUS
tice, but II illustrates the power OF the
pencil in depicting the fOllics OF the
foolish and the affectatiOns Of the arti-
fetal.
There Is no telling when the art Of
caricature began. There are a number
of grotcsquCs that have come down to
MS from earliest Egyptian times. The
Greeks employed pictures 10 emphasize
their satire. aud so did the Romans.
All through the middle ages there were
numbcrlcss examples of "grOtesquc-
rics" which, curiousy enough, were
used I'm enforcing the doctrines Of the
church by means Of satirizing the devil.
But the eighteenth century was the
hcyday of the cartoon.
Beginning in France and oycrrunning
into Holland ana thence across the
channel into England, the food Of carl
caturists carried everything before 1t,
and IL 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 caricaturlsts held up
to reflect the striking pcculiarities OF
the men and events passing before 1t.
Gautlcr mentions n Spanish cartoon
lst Francisco Gaya y Lucientes, mix
/ ture Of Rembrandt, Vatican and Ra-
/ belais, who preceded the two great car
! icatursts of the latter half of the
/ eighteenth century, George Cruikshank
| IN England and NJ. Charlet in France.
| Charlct is known as the father of mod
| ern social caricature and holds as good
| title TO his position as does Philipau to
that Of the father Of comic journalism,
| with lie Chariyari, the strongest paper
OF its kind. Then came Punch in Eng.
| land, which still retains its subtitle OF
! the London Charivarl, for years the
! faithful If not the most highly polished
reflector Of British life. Upon Its stan
! John Lcech, Richard Doyle. John Fen
mel, George du Maurier and dozen
men of lesser name kept Great Britain
I'm good humor for two generations.
1t has been reserved for America,
however TO bring forth a new race OF
carcaturists, which for lack of better
title may he called the personal car
toonists, men who seize upon the char
acteristics of an individual and so ex-
aggcrate them that the subjects Of the
cartoons are known 10y the most promi-
nent features I'm 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 dlssecting his
subject until he found his weakest
point and then numerically pricking 1t
with his drawing pencil, but with him
the race died out, TO be reincarnated in
America. Gillray was close observer
of people and events. He would sit In
his publishers window and watch the
fops Of the court as they passed and
fastcn i'm his memory every feature by
which man would be recognized 10y
his acquaintances. He remembered ev-
cry story that related TO the traits OF
character of those in the public eye,
and the st. James street of $500 IL
faithfully reproduced I'm his art
Perhaps we Americans look at the
droll side OF life more than other peo-
pie, but certain II is we have more and
better cartoonists than elsewhere. The
very quickhess with which we see the
point of joke demands equal facility
I'm portrayng drollery in cartoon. We
sketch boldly and leave much OF the
unnecessary detail TO our slower cous-
ins. Then, too our public events hap
pen with such startling rapidity that a
cartoon of yesterdays doings would be
Hat today, and we must keep very
much alive and be ready for political
change overnight.
In other words, the alert American
must have depicted in his cartoon the
very traits OF character that have made
him what he is, the quickest aud
brightest of men.-Thomas Mast In
New York NpwS