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Isaac Cruikshank - Royal recreation, British Cartoon Print
Summary
Cartoon shows Catherine II seated on a throne receiving the decapitated heads of the people of Poland from the military officer in charge of the Russian forces during the defeat of Poles in 1794; other men bring in baskets overflowing with heads; a bust of Charles Fox, in the lower right corner, observes the scene from over his right shoulder.
Forms part of : British Cartoon Prints Collection (Library of Congress).
Catalogue of prints and drawings in the British Museum. Division I, political and personal satires, v. 7, no. 8607
Exhibit loan 4161-L.
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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