Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-07-11
ART OF CARICATURE
evolu11oN AND INFLUENCE OF THE
NEWSPAPER CARTOON.

On Ennhasixe Their satire
Eiehteenth Century Craze
The story is told of an able OF th'
seventeenth century who was as ue
formed in figure as he was ridiculous
ia dress, and as sensitive about LIE
physical deformity as he was VAIN u
his eccentric attire, that wlAle serving
mass one morning he observed sillie
of contempt on the face OF one Oh Tic
courticrs present and Determined "
ayenee himself by serving process
upon him for appearance In court 'ne
following day
The offender, NJ. de Lasson by nalhe,
knowing that things would 20 haro
with him unless he could sho" solnc
reason for his mirth, made nasty
sketch of the hunchback abDe eAas-
peratinp in size the six black caps ana
the waistcoats in which he was "on'
to appear, and when he was solenliiy
asked to show cause for his unseelhly
mirth and indignity to the holy church
he suddenly displayed before his Judges
the caricature Of the able as his Eek
cusc." The likeness was so excellent
and the cartoon SO grotesque thai lHe
entire court fell to laughing, ana the
accused was liberated without reprl'
mand.
This is the first authentic case OF tne
power of the cartoon in q hall of jus
tice. but it Illustrates the power OF the
pencil in depicting the follies OF the
foolish and the Alterations OF the artI-
fetal.
There is no telling when the art OF
caricature began. There are NUMBER
Of grotesQues that have come down 10
us from earliest Egyptian times. The
Greeks employed pictures to emphasize
their satire and so did the Romans.
All through the middle ages there were
nulnberless examples of "grotesque-
ries" which, curiously enough, were
used in enforcing the doctrines of the
church by means of satirizinS the devil
But the eighteenth century was the
heyday of the cartoon.
Beginning in France and overrunnins
into Holland and thence across the
channel into England, the food 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 caricatursts held up
30, tho trtI 1in nc nj
the men and events passing before it.
Gautier mentions a Spanish cartoon
list, Francisco Gaya Lucientes, mix
ture of Rembrandt Vatican and RAJ
belais, who preceded the two great CAP
icaturists of the latter half of the
eighteenth century, George Cruikshank
in England and NJ. Charlct in France.
Charlet 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 Charivari, 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 du Maurer and dozen
men of lesser name kept Great Britain
IN good humOr for two generations.
1t has been reserved for America.
however. to bring forth new race of
caricaturists, which for lack of better
title may be called the personal car
toonists, 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 promi
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 rcincarnated in
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
tasten in his memory every feature hv
Which man would be recognized bv
his acquaintance. He remembered ev.
cry story that related to the traits Of
character OF those in the public eve.
and the st. James street of 1900 ia
faithfully reproduced in his art.
Perhaps we Americans look Mt thc
droll side of life more than other peo.
pie, but certain it is we have more and
better cartoonsts than elsewhere. Tho
very quickness with which we see the
point Of jake demands equal facility
In portr;Agkng drollery in cartoon. We
sketch npldly and leave much of the
detail to our slower cons.
ms Then, too, our public events han.
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 a poItica,
change overnight.
In other words, the alert American
must have depicted in his cartoon tho
very traits of character that have modo
him what he is, the quickest ANA
brightest of men. Thomas Mast IN
New York News.