Caricatures and cartoons -- Great Britain; Cruikshank, George, 1792-1878; English wit and humor, Pictorial
The "Interior of Willesden Church" is excellent as a composition, and a
piece of artistical workmanship; the groups are well arranged; and the
figure of Mrs. Sheppard looking round alarmed, as her son is robbing
the dandy Kneebone, is charming, simple, and unaffected. Not so "Mrs.
Sheppard ill in bed," whose face is screwed up to an expression vastly
too tragic. The little glimpse of the church seen through the open door
of the room is very beautiful and poetical: it is in such small hints
that an artist especially excels; they are the morals which he loves
to append to his stories, and are always appropriate and welcome.
The boozing ken is not to our liking; Mrs. Sheppard is there with her
horrified eyebrows again. Why this exaggeration--is it necessary for
the public? We think not, or if they require such excitement, let our
artist, like a true painter as he is, teach them better things.*
* A gentleman (whose wit is so celebrated that one should be
very cautious in repeating his stories) gave the writer a
good illustration of the philosophy of exaggeration. Mr. --
-- was once behind the scenes at the Opera when the scene-
shifters were preparing for the ballet. Flora was to sleep
under a bush, whereon were growing a number of roses, and
amidst which was fluttering a gay covey of butterflies. In
size the roses exceeded the most expansive sunflowers, and
the butterflies were as large as cocked hats;--the scene
-shifter explained to Mr. ----, who asked the reason why
everything was so magnified, that the galleries could never
see the objects unless they were enormously exaggerated.
How many of our writers and designers work for the
galleries?
The "Escape from Willesden Cage" is excellent; the "Burglary
in Wood's house" has not less merit; "Mrs. Sheppard in
Bedlam," a ghastly picture indeed, is finely conceived, but
not, as we fancy, so carefully executed; it would be better
for a little more careful drawing in the female figure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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