Friday, September 18, 2009

GEORGE CRUIKSHANK 1792-1878


I'm glad the Gillray post was so well-received. That emboldened me to talk about my other favorite cartoonist of that era, George Cruikshank. That's a Cruikshank drawing above, possibly influenced by Gillray.



Cruikshank and Gillray were contemporaries, though Cruikshank was the younger man, and was more likely to go after (in the words of one critic) the "low" kinds of gags (above).



Cruikshank was really funny but his early work shows him struggling with draughtsmanship. He had a mannered, off-kilter way of drawing (above) which he never fully shook off. Amazingly he was able to make it work for him in later years, but I'm getting ahead of myself.



Here's (above) a Cruikshank comet. Like so many cartoonists of yesteryear he thought nothing of tackling immense crowd scenes.



Here's (above) Cruikshank in his first mature style. Very funny. You can see the influence of Hogarth and Gillray, but it's still unmistakably "Cruick." Click to enlarge.


Cruikshank lived a lot longer than Gillray, and he experimented with a lot of styles (above).



He became a terrific pen and ink draughtsman. Sketches like these from 1839 were a big influence on the stable of artists working for Punch magazine.



Book illustration became a big deal in this period and Cruikshank morphed once more to adapt to it.



Along with Thackerey (yes, Thackerey the novelist) Cruikshank illustrated a number of Charles Dickens' novels. I don't know if he made much money on it since Dickens was famous for putting his illustrators through Hell.

The illustration above isn't from a Dickens story, but the style is the same. Some of Cruikshank's illustrations from this period look like they were lifted from "Humbug" magazine. The influence of Cruikshank on Kurtzman and Elder is unmistakable.




Remember I said that that Cruikshank had a mannered style when he was young? He eventually shed some of it and became a skilled classical draughtsman, except that he became appalled at how tame his drawings were getting so he re-introduced his youthful, off-kilter style back into his mature work. The blend was incredibly successful...sort of surreal and realistic at the same time... and influenced many other artists, in fact it's still used by illustrators today. If there's a lesson in that, it's "Keep your old drawings, even if they seem primitive; you may need them someday."

Cruikshank had an enormous influence on his field but others benefited from it more than he did. He died in near poverty.



Next post on Monday night.





11 comments:

Chloe Cumming said...

I love Cruikshank! Good reasons to be English. Thank you Eddie!

Craig said...

Cruikshank also etched the definitive version of Mr. Punch (of "and Judy" fame)http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Spring05/images/puppets_80L.jpg

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed your thoughts on Cruikshank and Gillray, Eddie.

Here's a good essay on Gillray (it's pretty long, but it gets at what makes Gillray so distinctive).

http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_1_oh_to_be.html

buzz said...

Thanx for this post, Eddie! We luvz us some Cruikshank here!

Anonymous said...

If you're into an artist don't be afraid to talk about him Eddie! I consider myself to be part of the unwashed masses when it comes to art and cartooning history.

Anonymous said...

I've discovered so many artists and ways of thinking about cartoons on your blog as well as John K's and the ASIFA site that I wouldn't have come across if I had stuck to the "Illusion of life is the bible, Chuck Jones and Tex Avery were the only two major warner brothers artists, the best artists work in anime..." mindset that 99 percent of young cartoonists have

Anonymous said...

What's funny about Cruikshanks early "mannered" drawing style is that his draughtsmanship was still better than most professional artists working today.

Do you have any particular anecdotes about how Dickens dealt with his illustrators?

Steven M. said...

The British sure had high standards back then.

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Chloe: Hi Chloe!

Craig: Great pictures of Punch and Judy. I had to restrain myself from printing them, else the post would have been too long.

Stephen: Good article. I read some of the author's book about attitudes that keep people in the lower class. It's nice to be reminded of him.

Hey, Buzz! Thanks for the good comment on the nature of death post.

Anon: Thanks! Can't remember any anecdotes but Hutchins' Life of Dickens talks about it. I LOVE that book.

Roon: True!

Matthew Cruickshank said...

Apparently, upon his death it was discovered ol' George had fathered 9 illegitimate children (9 or 11, I forget) with a mistress that lived across the street from him!

And we thought our lives were stressful.

Incidentally "Cruikshank" or "Cruickshank" means "Crooked Leg". It's derived from a time when Scottish clans were named by their appearance-hence Longshanks means being long legged or tall. The part of the leg between the knee and the ankle in humans is called a Shank.

Great post Eddie.

Charles H. said...

Nifty as usual! I especially like the lively facial expressions in the crowded drawing room picture. And... is it just me, or does the plumed gent in the 1839 sketch look like a Chuck Jones character?