Today on the site, Cynthia Rose writes about two shows in London and Paris focusing on Napoleonic art, and what it means to look at caricatures of Bonaparte nearly two centuries after his death.
The upstart Napoleon quickly drew the cartoonists' interest. At first, the British were simply impressed by his exploits then, eventually, worried about the threat he posed. But his reign saw incredible work from London's sharpest pens: Thomas Rowlandson, Richard Newton, George Cruikshank and the great James Gillray.
Bonaparte and the British has their finest efforts on show. But among all of them, it is James Gillray whose work retains an undeniable power. The son of a soldier who had lost one arm to the French, Gillray became the consummate editorial satirist. Many modern cartoonists, including the Guardian's Martin Rowson, cite his famous "The Plumb-pudding in danger" (1805) as "the greatest political cartoon ever drawn."
Meanwhile, elsewhere:
—Interviews & Profiles. Annie Mok interviews D&Q publisher Peggy Burns for The Hairpin.
Dan Berry interviews Jordan Crane for Make It Then Tell Everybody.
—Reviews & Criticism. Ken Parille has written a typically idiosyncratic response to that Chris Ware New Yorker cover I talked about last week. You may or may not agree with Parille's interpretation, but it's rich and thought-provoking, both traits more important in criticism than whether or not the reader agrees with every opinion. I'd like to read some negative responses to Ware's tech covers that are this full.
Sean Rogers reviews new books from Marc Bell, Andy Burkholder, and Jason Little.
In a recently republished review from 1979, Greil Marcus discusses a Donald Duck book by Carl Barks.
—Funnies. Eleanor Davis has a story at Hazlitt.
—Misc. Medium's new The Response features a roundtable of seven cartoonists reacting to the recent horrifying massacre in Charleston.
