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Cartoon

The word cartoon originates from the Italian word cartone, meaning strong, heavy paper, and it began its life not as a joke but as a serious architectural blueprint for the greatest masterpieces of the Renaissance. In the early 1500s, artists like Raphael created full-size preparatory drawings on sturdy paperboard to serve as the final design for massive tapestries and frescoes. These were not mere sketches but precise instructions that guided skilled craftsmen in the production of art that would last for centuries. The process involved pinpricks along the outlines of the design, allowing a bag of soot to be pounced over the paper to leave black dots on the damp plaster, a technique known as pouncing that ensured the composition remained accurate across multiple days of work. Today, the original Raphael Cartoons in London are so highly prized that they are considered fine art in their own right, standing as a testament to the medium's humble and technical origins before it ever became a vehicle for humor.

The Satirical Turn

The meaning of the word shifted dramatically in 1843 when Punch magazine applied the term to satirical drawings, ironically using it to describe sketches that mocked the very grand historical frescoes the word originally described. John Leech, a contributor to the magazine, produced the first of these parodies, which were published as Cartoon, No. 1, marking the moment the word detached from its artistic roots to enter the realm of social commentary. Sir John Tenniel joined Punch in 1850 and went on to contribute over two thousand cartoons in more than fifty years, including the famous Davy Jones' Locker, which cemented the magazine's reputation for biting political satire. This era saw the birth of the editorial cartoon, a form that used irony and visual metaphors to critique current social and political topics, often with a tone that was more serious than the gag cartoons that would follow. The medium became a powerful tool for holding leaders accountable, as seen in the work of Thomas Nast, whose 160 cartoons relentlessly pursued the criminal Tweed machine in New York City and helped bring it down, even leading to the arrest of the corrupt politician in Spain when police identified him from Nast's drawings.

The Father of the Political Cartoon

James Gillray, often referred to as the father of the political cartoon, revolutionized the medium in the late 18th century by using it to lampoon and caricature the highest figures in the land. His work was so effective that he dared to call King George III a pretentious buffoon and dedicated the bulk of his career to ridiculing the ambitions of revolutionary France and Napoleon. Following Gillray, George Cruikshank became the leading cartoonist from 1815 until the 1840s, renowned for his social caricatures of English life that captured the mood of the nation. The power of these images was such that they could influence public opinion and even legal outcomes, as demonstrated by the 1921 libel trial in Britain where J. H. Thomas, the leader of the National Union of Railwaymen, successfully sued the magazine of the British Communist Party for defamation. The cartoonist had framed Thomas's image in a way that threatened to degrade his character in the popular imagination, and the court ruled in his favor, restoring his reputation and establishing a legal boundary for the freedom of the press in political satire.

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1843 introductionsCartooningComics terminologyFilm and video terminologyFilm genresVisual arts genres

The Golden Age of the Strip

While political cartoons dominated the newspapers, a different kind of cartoon was emerging that would eventually become the backbone of modern entertainment, starting with the Swiss comic-strip book Mr. Vieux Bois in 1837 and the British strip Ally Sloper in 1867. The American strip Yellow Kid, which first appeared in 1895, set the stage for the comic books that would explode in popularity in the 1930s, offering original material in magazine format or reprints of newspaper strips. In Britain, DC Thomson revolutionized the industry with The Dandy Comic in December 1937, a publication with a revolutionary design that broke away from the usual children's comics that were published broadsheet in size and not very colorful. The publisher capitalized on its success with a similar product, The Beano, in 1938, and sent observers around the country to talk to boys and learn what they wanted to read about, discovering that the story line that most appealed to them was the glamorous heroism of British soldiers fighting wars that were exciting and just. This era saw the rise of creators like Charles Schulz, Scott Adams, and Bill Watterson, who turned the comic strip into a vehicle for both humor and drama, creating characters that would become cultural icons.

The Animation Revolution

The word cartoon eventually came to refer to animation, a medium that relies on a sequence of illustrations to create the illusion of movement, a process that began with the rotoscoping of Eadweard Muybridge's 19th-century photos of a running horse. While animation designates any style of illustrated images seen in rapid succession to give the impression of movement, the word cartoon is most often used as a descriptor for television programs and short films aimed at children, possibly featuring anthropomorphized animals, superheroes, or the adventures of child protagonists. The stylistic similarities between comic strips and early animated films led to the convergence of the two terms, with animators becoming the creators of the moving cartoons that would dominate the 20th century. This shift marked a new chapter in the history of the medium, where the static images of the past were transformed into dynamic stories that could capture the imagination of audiences around the world, from the early days of rotoscoping to the modern era of digital animation.

The Science of the Absurd

In the modern era, cartoons have found their place in the world of science, mathematics, and technology, with creators like Sidney Harris and Gary Larson using the medium to explore the complexities of the scientific world. The cartoon Wonderlab looked at daily life in the chemistry lab, while Gary Larson's cartoons often had a scientific flavor that resonated with those who understood the intricacies of the field. These works demonstrated that the cartoon was not just a tool for humor or political satire but also a way to communicate complex ideas in a way that was accessible and engaging. The medium allowed scientists and mathematicians to express their ideas in a way that was both accurate and entertaining, bridging the gap between the academic and the popular. This evolution of the cartoon into the realm of science showed that the medium was versatile enough to handle any subject, from the most serious political issues to the most abstract mathematical concepts.
The word cartoon originates from the Italian word cartone, meaning strong, heavy paper, and it began its life not as a joke but as a serious architectural blueprint for the greatest masterpieces of the Renaissance. In the early 1500s, artists like Raphael created full-size preparatory drawings on sturdy paperboard to serve as the final design for massive tapestries and frescoes. These were not mere sketches but precise instructions that guided skilled craftsmen in the production of art that would last for centuries. The process involved pinpricks along the outlines of the design, allowing a bag of soot to be pounced over the paper to leave black dots on the damp plaster, a technique known as pouncing that ensured the composition remained accurate across multiple days of work. Today, the original Raphael Cartoons in London are so highly prized that they are considered fine art in their own right, standing as a testament to the medium's humble and technical origins before it ever became a vehicle for humor.

The Satirical Turn

The meaning of the word shifted dramatically in 1843 when Punch magazine applied the term to satirical drawings, ironically using it to describe sketches that mocked the very grand historical frescoes the word originally described. John Leech, a contributor to the magazine, produced the first of these parodies, which were published as Cartoon, No. 1, marking the moment the word detached from its artistic roots to enter the realm of social commentary. Sir John Tenniel joined Punch in 1850 and went on to contribute over two thousand cartoons in more than fifty years, including the famous Davy Jones' Locker, which cemented the magazine's reputation for biting political satire. This era saw the birth of the editorial cartoon, a form that used irony and visual metaphors to critique current social and political topics, often with a tone that was more serious than the gag cartoons that would follow. The medium became a powerful tool for holding leaders accountable, as seen in the work of Thomas Nast, whose 160 cartoons relentlessly pursued the criminal Tweed machine in New York City and helped bring it down, even leading to the arrest of the corrupt politician in Spain when police identified him from Nast's drawings.

The Father of the Political Cartoon

James Gillray, often referred to as the father of the political cartoon, revolutionized the medium in the late 18th century by using it to lampoon and caricature the highest figures in the land. His work was so effective that he dared to call King George III a pretentious buffoon and dedicated the bulk of his career to ridiculing the ambitions of revolutionary France and Napoleon. Following Gillray, George Cruikshank became the leading cartoonist from 1815 until the 1840s, renowned for his social caricatures of English life that captured the mood of the nation. The power of these images was such that they could influence public opinion and even legal outcomes, as demonstrated by the 1921 libel trial in Britain where J. H. Thomas, the leader of the National Union of Railwaymen, successfully sued the magazine of the British Communist Party for defamation. The cartoonist had framed Thomas's image in a way that threatened to degrade his character in the popular imagination, and the court ruled in his favor, restoring his reputation and establishing a legal boundary for the freedom of the press in political satire.

The Golden Age of the Strip

While political cartoons dominated the newspapers, a different kind of cartoon was emerging that would eventually become the backbone of modern entertainment, starting with the Swiss comic-strip book Mr. Vieux Bois in 1837 and the British strip Ally Sloper in 1867. The American strip Yellow Kid, which first appeared in 1895, set the stage for the comic books that would explode in popularity in the 1930s, offering original material in magazine format or reprints of newspaper strips. In Britain, DC Thomson revolutionized the industry with The Dandy Comic in December 1937, a publication with a revolutionary design that broke away from the usual children's comics that were published broadsheet in size and not very colorful. The publisher capitalized on its success with a similar product, The Beano, in 1938, and sent observers around the country to talk to boys and learn what they wanted to read about, discovering that the story line that most appealed to them was the glamorous heroism of British soldiers fighting wars that were exciting and just. This era saw the rise of creators like Charles Schulz, Scott Adams, and Bill Watterson, who turned the comic strip into a vehicle for both humor and drama, creating characters that would become cultural icons.

The Animation Revolution

The word cartoon eventually came to refer to animation, a medium that relies on a sequence of illustrations to create the illusion of movement, a process that began with the rotoscoping of Eadweard Muybridge's 19th-century photos of a running horse. While animation designates any style of illustrated images seen in rapid succession to give the impression of movement, the word cartoon is most often used as a descriptor for television programs and short films aimed at children, possibly featuring anthropomorphized animals, superheroes, or the adventures of child protagonists. The stylistic similarities between comic strips and early animated films led to the convergence of the two terms, with animators becoming the creators of the moving cartoons that would dominate the 20th century. This shift marked a new chapter in the history of the medium, where the static images of the past were transformed into dynamic stories that could capture the imagination of audiences around the world, from the early days of rotoscoping to the modern era of digital animation.

The Science of the Absurd

In the modern era, cartoons have found their place in the world of science, mathematics, and technology, with creators like Sidney Harris and Gary Larson using the medium to explore the complexities of the scientific world. The cartoon Wonderlab looked at daily life in the chemistry lab, while Gary Larson's cartoons often had a scientific flavor that resonated with those who understood the intricacies of the field. These works demonstrated that the cartoon was not just a tool for humor or political satire but also a way to communicate complex ideas in a way that was accessible and engaging. The medium allowed scientists and mathematicians to express their ideas in a way that was both accurate and entertaining, bridging the gap between the academic and the popular. This evolution of the cartoon into the realm of science showed that the medium was versatile enough to handle any subject, from the most serious political issues to the most abstract mathematical concepts.