Caricatures of Charles Darwin and his evolutionary theory in 19th-century England
This article possibly contains original research. (October 2015) |
This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia's layout guidelines. (March 2024) |
Before
The caricatures provide not only insights into the public perception of Darwin's evolutionary theory but also played an essential part in its dissemination and popularisation.[4] During the 1860s and 1870s the kinship between ape and man received far more opposition than it would in the following century, with the theory of natural selection today considered a subject of universal scientific consensus.
Notable images
Professor Darwin
We see Darwin portrayed as a monkey with his own human head. He holds a mirror up to another monkey which is sitting next to him. It seems as if he would invite the monkey to ponder over himself and his existence. This is underlined by the two accompanying quotations of
Man Is But a Worm
Interpretations
Professor Darwin
This caricature offers various starting points for an art-historical analysis. It was published three years after Darwin's work
After the publication of The Descent of Man Darwin was increasingly identified with the theory of evolution although his friend Thomas Henry Huxley was the first to put it forward. As a result, Darwin himself was considered more and more as a suitable object to caricature. The cover of the French satirical magazine La Petite Lune is a telling example of the paradigmatic representation of Darwin in contemporary cartoons and caricatures.[8]
Man Is But a Worm
Sambourne's caricature deals in a playful manner with the topics "evolution" and "descent of man." The title alludes to a publication of Darwin entitled The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations of their Habits which was issued in October 1881.
That the earthworm is transformed into a monkey and not into another animal might indicate that the thesis of a kinship between ape and human received a wider acceptance among the British public (The Descent of Man had been published 10 years earlier). Still, the monkey is depicted as the underdeveloped version of a human. At the same time, however, the "superior" human being or rather the English gentleman is ridiculed: he too is descended from an earthworm.[citation needed]
Precursors and reception
Precursors for the depiction of anthropomorphic animals were the works of
Origin
- The caricature Prof. Darwin was published on 18 February 1874 three years after the publication of Darwin's seminal work The Descent of Man in Figaro's London Sketch Book of Celebrities. The artist is unknown.[citation needed]
- Man Is But a Worm, a caricature by Edward Linley Sambourne, was printed in Punch's Almanack for 1882 on 6 December 1881.[citation needed]
- A drawing done by Edward Linley Sambourne references Darwin. This drawing was titled, "Man is But a Worm." On 6 December 1881, this drawing was put into Punch's Almanac.[12]
Sources
- ^ Cf. Andreas Blühm and Louise Lippincott, Tierschau. Wie unser Bild vom Tier entstand (Köln: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, 2007), 14.
- ^ Diana Donald, introduction to Endless Forms. Charles Darwin, Natural Science and the Visual Arts, ed. Diana Donald and Jane Munro (Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, 2009), 1.
- ^ Julia Voss, "Monkeys, Apes and Evolutionary Theory: from Human Descent to King Kong," Endless Forms. Charles Darwin, Natural Science and the Visual Arts, ed. Diana Donald and Jane Munro (Cambridge: Fitzwilliam Museum, 2009), 222.
- ^ Cf. Browne, "Darwin in Caricature," 508-09.
- ^ Julia Voss, "Variieren und Selektieren: Die Evolutionstheorie in der englischen und deutschen illustrierten Presse im 19. Jahrhundert," Darwin. Kunst und die Suche nach den Ursprüngen, ed. Pamela Kort and Max Hollein (Köln: Wienand, 2009), 250.
- ^ a b Cf. Voss, "Variieren und Selektieren," 250.
- ^ Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex (New York: D. Appleton, ²1874), 165.
- ^ Cf. Janet Browne, "Darwin in Caricature: A Study in the Popularization and Dissemination of Evolution," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 145 (2001): 506.
- ^ Cf. Bernd Herkner, "Die Welt des Charles Darwin," Darwin. Kunst und die Suche nach den Ursprüngen, ed. Pamela Kort and Max Hollein (Köln: Wienand, 2009), 259.
- ^ Browne, "Darwin in Caricature," 501.
- ^ Cf. Voss, "Variieren und Selektieren," 254.
- ^ Tucker, Jennifer. "What our most famous evolutionary cartoon gets wrong – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. © 2016 BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA PARTNERS, LLC. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
See also
Further reading
- Browne, Janet: "Making Darwin: Biography and the Changing Representations of Charles Darwin." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 40 (2010): 347–373.
- Browne, Janet: "Charles Darwin as a Celebrity." Science in Context 16 (2003): 175–194.
- Donald, Diana and Jane Munro: Endless Forms. Charles Darwin, Natural Science and the Visual Arts. Cambridge, 2009.
- Gapps, Suzanne: "Charles Darwin as an Icon." Culture and Organization 12 (2006): 341–357.
- Janson, Horst W.: Apes and Ape Lore in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. London, 1952.
- Kemp, Martin: The Human Animal in Western Art and Science. Chicago und London, 2007.
- Kort, Pamela and Max Hollein: Darwin. Kunst und die Suche nach den Ursprüngen. Köln, 2009.
- Larson, Barbara and Fae Brauer: The Art of Evolution. Darwin, Darwinisms, and Visual Culture. Hanover, 2009.
- Voss, Julia: Darwins Bilder. Ansichten der Evolutionstheorie 1837–1874. Frankfurt a.M., ²2009.
- Voss, Julia: "Darwin oder Moses? Funktion und Bedeutung von Charles Darwins Porträt im 19. Jahrhundert." NTM Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Wissenschaften, Technik und Medizin 16 (2008): 213–243.