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About Genre & Humor
By George Glazer & Helen Glazer, © 2002-2006
Genre, caricature, humorous and satirical prints are historical documents of the social values of the times in which they were made. Genre prints sometimes show how people actually lived at the time, while others depict an idealized view of life that reveal about how people of the era wished to see themselves. Political and social satires serve as records of issues that aroused passions, caused controversy or simply made people laugh. The heyday of both types of prints in England, France and the U.S. was from about 1760 to 1850.
The term "genre" on our site covers a broad range of art, from sentimental to cynical, from melodramatic to mocking. The Library of Congress' Thesaurus of Graphic Materials II defines genre works as, "Scenes or incidents of everyday life, such as domestic interiors or rural and village scenes; tableaux; chiefly pre-1900." These pictures have their roots in Dutch 17th century paintings of daily life and were very popular during the 18th and 19th centuries. Genre prints may illustrate a story or poem, although sometimes they are stand-alone works where the narrative aspect is implied.
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Martin's Act, the first animal-rights law, is satirized in this 1822 print. |
On our site, we classify prints as genre prints if they are pre-1900* and fall into one of these categories:
- Scenes of daily life
- Comic scenes enacted by people or animals that comment on human behavior
- Moralizing prints by artists such as Hogarth
- Allegorical subjects illustrated by people of that period
The late 18th century in England beginning with the reign of George III was the first great age of cartooning, an explosion of witty and pointed political expression and propaganda. Sometimes the distinction between humorous and genre prints is blurred, as many genre prints incorporate social or political commentary, and a humorous perspective ranging from gently comic to biting satire, often through the use of caricatures.
*Works made after 1900 may be found on our site in Illustration Art. |
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Portrait of British caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson |
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Print from Rowlandson's popular Miseries of Human Life series, 1808 |
Genre & Humor Artists,
Printmakers & Publishers
Some of the most popular genre and humor artists of late 18th and early 19th Century England were Thomas Rowlandson, Gillray and H.W. Bunbury, Henry Alken and George Cruikshank. These artists by and large created humorous prints based on scenarios from daily life as well as depicting current events. The British printseller Laurie & Whittle also produced a series of prints illustrating songs performed in London theaters (see examples).
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James Gillray almost single-handedly invented the genre of British political caricature. |
While some artists engraved their own work, most relied on a specialist to translate their original drawings and paintings to the print medium. Stipple engraver Francesco Bartolozzi was much in demand by major British genre artists in the 18th century, for the superb technique that earned him the nickname "the god of drawing." |
Angelica Kauffman was known for her paintings based on historical and literary subjects. Many of these were made into genre prints by the finest engravers of the day, including Bartolozzi. |
Portrait of George Morland, among the great Georgian-era genre artists. |
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A genre print of genre paintings: Collectors examine an exhibit of works by George Morland, whose work was frequently reproduced in prints. |
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"Fancy pictures" by artists such as Sir Joshua Reynolds reached a wide audience when issued as prints. |
Prints were also made after genre paintings by prominent artists such as George Morland, and after the "fancy pictures" (a combination of portrait and genre picture popular in the 18th Century) by painters such as Sir Joshua Reynolds. In the United States, the firm of Currier & Ives was a prolific and highly successful producer of genre prints.
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