CARICATURE (Fr.. It. caricatura, front Med. Lat. roricarc, to overload, exaggerate. from Lat. earrus, ear). A representation, descriptive or pictorial, in which the peculiarities or natural characteristics of an individual or class. are exag wrated, so as to make the object ridiculous. In this article the term is used in its usual signifi galley as applied to the plastic and graphic arts, especially the latter. The two principal kinds of caricature are moral, directed against the habits and customs of individuals and of society, and political, directed against corruption and had government in the State. To be good, a caricature must possess real traits of the orig inal, exaggerated in a ridiculous sense, but easy to recognize. The should have a good .s.nse of form, a ready pencil. and keen observa tion. To this most be added a considerable knowledge of human nature, and of the influ ences of the passions, habits of life, and modes of thought upon mankind. As earicature does not enter into very high and serious art, neither should the medium or method employed be too dignified or heavy. The use of oil colors might be out of place here. and a certain inattention to studied and accurate drawing is permissible. The touch should be light and skillful, and the medium best employed is perhaps pen or pencil. Caricature probably is as old as man's ability tc express himself in the graphic. arts. It is said to have existed in Assyria. and certain gro tesque figures in the Egyptian papyri are prob ably caricatures. Though averse to distorting the human figure, the Greeks caricatured their gods and heroes. On a Greek vase ''Apollo Arriving at Delphi" is represented as a charla tan of the Greek theatre, and on another, Achil les. intoxicated, is borne on the shoulders of Ajax. We know from the statements of Horace and Cicero that caricature was common in Rome. A fresco found at Gragnano represents _Eneas, his father and his son, with dogs' heads and otherwise caricatured. Another like the preced ing in the Musco Gregorian°, Rome, represents a philosopher as a pigmy preaching to a fox. Some of the designs called "Graffiti," found at Hercu laneum and Pompeii, are caricatures. Such a design, found near the Palatine Ilill, Rome, represents "Christ on the Cross," with an ass's head, adored by a believer, with the inscription, "Alexamemis, adore thy llod." The grotesque was a marked feature of the art of the :Middle Ages, especially during the Gothic period. Caricatures abounded in the illumina tions of manuscripts and in the thousands of statues which ornamented the church portals. Satan, Death, and other unpopular personages were much satirized, but the Church was by no means spared, the monks receiving au unusual share. The "Dance of Death" (q.v.) was a cari cature. on a large scale, of Death dominating all classes of society.
The painters of the Renaissance frequently made use of carieatures. Those of Leonardo da Vinei. most wonderful drawings, were purely artistic, and without reference to morals or Annibale Carracei used caricature as a again-t the Naturalists when, in his pic ture of the Naples 'Museum, he portrayed Cara vaggio. his great rival, as a dwarf with monkeys and parrot. The school of the Carracci produced a number of good caricaturists. Other distin guished Italians of the Seventeenth Century were Bacio del Bianco in Florence. and Pietro liellotti in Venice; of the Eighteenth Century, the Roman artist Pierleone Ghezzi. In Germany, Hans Holbein's "Dance of Death" and his illus . trat ions of Erasmus's Praise of Folly were eariea tures of the highest artistic order, and Lucas Cranneh's prints ridicuhng the Pope and Cathol icism were of the widest influence. The pictures of Brauwer, and Ostade, though high works of art, are real caricatures of peasant life.
The invention of the printing-press gave to caricature a new power, but it was hindered from using this power by the lack of freedom of the press. In France, each party made use of eari •ature during the wars of the Reformation, and the well-kiumn "Songes Driidatiques," attributed to Rabelais, ridiculed both parties. A really
great caricaturist of the :Seventeenth Century was Callot. but he devoted himself to satirizing general types. Under Louis Xiii. and his suc cessor, caricature was active, especially at the close of the reign of Louis XIV., who was much annoyed by the Dutch artist Roma in de Hoghe, a pupil of Callot, in the service of William of Orange. The caricaturists lashed, with a merci less hand. the immoralities of Louis XV., and the clerical regime. During the Revolution cari cature became a means of political propaganda, and was especially used by the Republicans. Each event of the Revolution was lauded or at tacked, the King and Queen being especially noticed. Napoleon I. confined caricature to man ners and customs, but the English lampooned him all the more for the in France. After the Restoration the returned aristocracy and the clerical tendencies of the Kings formed excellent butts of ridicule, even such artists as Delacroix and Decamps taking part. The Revo lution of MO brought greater liberty of the press and, aided by the invention of lithography, caricature flourished as never before. In that year Charles Philippon founded La Caricature, which was followed by Charivari and the Jour nal pour Rim. Louis Philippe was the most cari catured of all French monarchs. his pear-shaped head forming a peculiarly tempting, butt of ridi cule. A brilliant group of caricaturists arose, who were of great importance in the history of art, and did much to bring art back from classi cism to real life. flonori; Damnier, in particular, lashed the Chamber of Deputies, the Peers, and the Kings, as he afterwards ridiculed Napoleon TIE Among other artists were Carle Vernet, Gavarni, Henri Monier, and Chain, probably the most important group of caricaturists the world has seen. Under Napoleon political eari•ature was confined to external polities. but the Third Republic brought liberty, and saw the develop ment of such talents as Wilette, Cann Pille, Boutet de Monvel, and others.
The first great English caricaturist was Ho ga•th (1697-176.1), who satirized social vice with realism and force. Political caricature began with the Alinistry of Walpole in 172I, but the artists were mainly foreign. In the latter half of the eentury an important group of native art ists arose. chief among whom were dames and Thomas Rawlinson. They reflected political sentiments in the minutest manner, and are. in fact, a valuable sou•ce of history for the period. Their work is. however, rather coarse. in com parison with that of the present. Chief among the artists of the early half of the Nineteenth Century were George Cruikshank, for "moral comedies." and the brothers .Tohn and Richard Doyle for political caricature. In IS41 was founded Punch, or the London Charirari, in which the more refined modern caricature of Leech muscles, before opening at the surface and dis charging. 'Jo this terrible disease most deformi ties not congenital are owing. The carious ver tebrae yield under the Weight of the trunk, and the spine curves forward or to one side. In tho joint-ends of bones, the part enlarges, the car tilages become affected, matter forms, and ampu tation of the limb or excision of the joint is frequently necessary to save the patient's life. Too often the disease recurs with night-sweats, hectic, and death. The causes of caries are con stitutional or traumatic. Scrofula. syphilis, or excessive use of mercury'may be the cause. If affecting a small bone, the latter may be entirely removed; and if the disease is strictly limited to the ends of the bones forming a joint, these may be excised. Carious places may be scraped out or gouged out by the rongeur in sonic in stances. Amputation may be necessary. Consti tutional treatment to improve assimilation and nutrition, and combat any underlying cachexia, must be employed.