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Art - James Gillray,
18th century caricaturist
The word ‘caricature’ comes from the Italian word
‘caricare’ meaning ‘to load’ (hence
to exaggerate), and this satirical art form saw its roots
in the Italian Renaissance masters, particularly Leonardo
Da Vinci. The invention of the printing press gave caricaturists
more scope, and in the late eighteenth century there was a
boom in the genre in Britain. The foremost caricaturist of
the era was a Scotsman called James Gillray, and there is
an exhibition of his work in the Thebes Gallery for the next
fortnight as part of the Tom Paine Festival. Gillray’s
work is as valuable for historians as it is for art historians,
as his attention to detail was phenomenal and the prints give
us valuable information of the customs and dress of the era.
The caricaturist has also been hugely influential on the genre
as a whole: modern day satirists such as Steve Bell and Martin
Rowson of the Guardian are quick to acknowledge the debt they
owe to the Scotsman’s innovative style.
Gillray was a master at exposing pomposity and hypocrisy and
his targets were drawn from both the political and social
world. Prominent figures in his work include Pitt the Younger,
Napoleon, Edmund Burke, George III and The Prince Regent (later
George IV). His political influence can’t be underestimated:
in 1798 Lord Bateman wrote to him ‘The (Whig) Opposition
are as low as you could wish them. You have been of infinite
service in lowering them, and making them ridiculous.’
The collection in the Thebes Gallery largely depicts Gillray’s
contemporary Tom Paine. AL |
