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Consular coachmanship!!, British Cartoon Print
Summary
Print shows Josephine standing in a carriage on the left which is drawn by four "unruly" horses, two are labeled "A Jacobin" and "A Royalist"; Napoleon, having been tossed onto the back of a bull, probably representing John Bull or Great Britain, lies on his back with his head between the upright horns of the bull, suggesting cuckoldry, probably alluding to rumors of infidelity involving Josephine. A whip lies on the ground next to the horses, Napoleon's oversized hat lies on the ground next to the bull. Napoleon says, alluding to his double humiliation, by the British in Egypt and his wife at home in France, "Between the Bull, and the Horns I make a pretty figure!!"
Forms part of: British Cartoon Prints Collection (Library of Congress).
It wasn't really until the 1700s that caricature truly blossomed as a form of political criticism. In the late 1750s, a man named Thomas Townshend began using the techniques employed by earlier engravers and applying them towards a political model. This gave Thompson's cartoons a much greater feeling of propaganda than previous artistic critiques of the time. The intense political climate of the period, and often accusatory nature of most political cartoons forced many artists to use pseudonyms in order to avoid accusations of libel. Other artists took it a step farther, and left their cartoons completely unsigned, foregoing any credit they may have received. Political higher-ups were notoriously touchy about their reputations and were not afraid to make examples of offenders. Puck was the first successful humor magazine in the United States of colorful cartoons, caricatures and political satire of the issues of the day. It was published from 1871 until 1918.
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