Andr Gill

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Vocation

Notable

French caricaturist. He adopted the pseudonym André Gill in homage to his hero, James Gillray. Gill's style, subsequently much imitated, was noted for the enlargement of his subjects' heads, which sat upon undersized bodies. His caricatures, in the form of large hand-colored, lithographic portraits, were considered very accurate and not very cruel. Thus, many of Gill's famous contemporaries wished to be drawn by him. Gill drew portrait caricatures of Sarah Bernhardt, Otto von Bismarck, Émile Zola, Victor Hugo, Nadar, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Adelina Patti, Charles Dickens, and Richard Wagner. In 1868, Gill faced a lawsuit after drawing a pumpkin (see drawing to the right) that was believed by the magistrates to represent the head of a judge. Ever since Charles Philipon had drawn a pear to represent Louis Philippe, any fruit drawn by caricaturists was believed to carry satirical value and was suspect in the eyes of the court. Gill's lawsuit brought him fame –as well as a prison sentence. He was, however, released after a short time. Gill succumbed in 1880 to mental illness and died five years later, May Day, 1885, at the asylum of Charenton with only Emile Cohl, friend and colleague, at his side. His other friends and the public overall, had deserted him. Charenton asylum had famously served as the home of the Marquis de Sade. Link to Wikipedia biography