Pedro Almodovar (1949- )
Pedro Almodovar was born in Calzada de Calatrava, Spain, close to Toledo. He is a filmmaker best known for his use of melodrama, improbable circumstances, and high camp.
He has been a director, writer, actor, producer, composer and designer of films since 1980.
Alfonso Daniel Rodriguez Castelao (1886-1950)
Alfonso Castelao was born in Rianxo, Spain and died in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was an influential cartoonist and writer of his time, famous for depicting the humor of the Galician region.
Camilo Jose Cela (1916-2002)
Camilo Cela was a prolific writer of poems, plays, short stories, fables, and travel books; founder and director of the journal “Papeles de Son Armadans”; and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Eugenio Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Salvador Dali was a surrealist painter who is once quoted as saying:
“…My audience mustn’t know whether I’m spoofing or being serious; and likewise, I mustn’t know either”
Browse the permanent collection of The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Manuel Fraga (1922-2012)
Manuel Fraga was born in Vilalba, Spain and was a prominent member of President Franco’s regime of terror. In 1962, he ordered repressive “Law of the Press and Printing” and founded extreme-right wing party “Alianza Popular.”
Ramon Otero Pedrayo (1888-1976)
Ramon Pedrayo was born in Ourense, Spain. He was one of the most dynamic figures in Galician culture - a writer, politician, and intellectual. He participated in the foundation of the magazine “Century” and was co-founder of the Gallequista Party in 1931. He was an extraordinary orator, teacher, and writer.
Manuel Antonio Martinez Murguia (1833-1923)
Manuel Murguia was born in Oseiro, Spain. He was a historian and writer.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Pablo Picaso was a world-renowned painter and sculptor and founded the cubist movement in collaboration with George Brague.
Xose Manuel Higinio Beiras Torrado (1936- )
Xose Torrado was born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. He is a university professor, prolific writer, and politician. He participated in the formation of the political party, National Block Galego, (BNG).
About the artist
Jose Angel Rodriguez Lopez, better known as “Gogue” to readers of his comic strip “Floreano” in the daily newspaper Faro de Vigo, grew up in O Grove - a small fishing village in the Galicia region in northwestern Spain. A self-taught artist, Gogue explains that the Internet has expanded his audience considerably. His work appears in a wide range of publications from The Greenwich Village Gazette to Alaska’s Bush Blade along with a variety of online magazines. Visit his website to see more of his work.
Caricature
A caricature is a humorous illustration that exaggerates or distorts the basics essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. The word caricature comes from the Italian caricare, “to load,” so the caricaturist’s aim is to invest their image with as much meaning as possible.
Caricatures can be insulting or complimentary and can serve a political purpose or be drawn solely for entertainment. Caricatures of politicians are commonly used in editorial carton, while caricatures of movie starts are often found in entertainment magazines.
History of Caricature
The inventor of caricature as an independent art form was, according to 17th century sources, the Bolognese history painter, Annibale Carracci. A writer calling himself Mosini recorded Annibale’s “theory” of caricature as being the ultimate antithesis of beauty: “una bella….perfetta deformita”. Like beauty in art, Annibale held, it was based on selection and synthesis. The artist was to devise it in a playful spirit like that of Nature, whenever She offered him suitable models. The point was to offer an impression of the original which was more striking than a portrait.
Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), one of the great early practitioners, was favored by the members of the papal court for his ability to depict the essence of a person in three to four strokes.
A particularly well-known French artist, Honore Daumier (1808-1879) could also be considered the father of caricature. During his life time he created over 4,000 lithographs, most of them published in daily French newspapers such as La Caricature.
During the 18th century caricatures became popular in England. Probably the greatest practitioner of the art of caricature at that time was James Gillray (1757-1815).
The art form gained further popularity in the early 19th century, when satirical drawings of politicians and local celebrities would be printed in newspapers.
In the years after World War I making caricatures experienced a renaissance in the United States. A new wave of artists like Al Hirschfield and Miguel Covarrubias showed that caricatures could be fun, colorful and graceful, and not always crude, vicious insults found on the editorial page.