Was the Master Artist Raphael also a ‘Cartoonist’?
The modern meaning of the word ‘Cartoon’ of course is a humorous illustration that has been published in print, which owes its origin to appropriation by the British magazine Punch for its wildly popular political satire in the 1840s. But on a visit to the V&A in London some time back, as I stood mesmerised by the ‘Raphael Cartoons’, I discovered that the etymology of the word is actually rooted in fine art. I could not reconcile Raphael’s fine art with the exaggerated version we associated the word with — and I found myself going down my favourite rabbit hole of word origins.
The word ‘Cartoon’ comes from the Italian word ‘Cartone’ meaning strong robust paper (also extended to the English word ‘Carton’ where that meaning is more apparent). During the middle ages when the artists made detailed tapestries and, during the Renaissance, when they made frescoes (and sometimes for paintings and mosaics as well) they needed to first create full size drawings on paper which they then replicated onto the final medium of fabric — cloth or canvas. This was more critical for tapestries which would finally be made in specialist craftsmen’s workshops while the artist would only supply the working illustration and would not be directly involved in its fabrication.
The Raphael Cartoons are perhaps the most well-known of the type. They came to England when they were acquired by King Charles I in 1623 and now seven of them hang at the V&A. They depict scenes from the life of Saint Peter and Paul and were commissioned by Pope Leo X for tapestries to be hung at the Sistine Chapel. Imagine Raphael’s challenge! Michelangelo had just finished his magnum opus at the very same Sistine Chapel and Raphael had to produce a body of work that matched the same, and he went the extra mile to achieve that. If you are a lover of Renaissance art, they are a veritable feast, and the cartoons are masterpieces in their own right. For drawings which can be light sensitive and prone to damage over time, they have survived in good condition as well.
In a quirky turn of things, Raphael the master maker of original cartoons has become an exaggerated version himself thanks to the rebellious cartoon character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles named after him! And as I also discovered, Raphael was also a ‘cartoonist’ after the fact, etymologically speaking!!
