Caricature 1941

Adalbert Erdeli sketched this caricature in 1941 with swift strokes of charcoal. The exaggerated profile, with its beak-like nose and receding chin, is a study in physiognomy, that ancient art of discerning character from facial features. Consider the caricature not just as a drawing, but as a modern-day gargoyle, a descendant of those grotesque figures perched atop Gothic cathedrals. These architectural oddities were not merely decorative; they were apotropaic, warding off evil with their exaggerated ugliness. Similarly, the caricature uses distortion as a defense, a humorous shield against the world's harsh realities. The artist taps into a deep-seated human impulse: to laugh in the face of adversity, to find catharsis in the grotesque. This impulse has coursed through art history, resurfacing in the works of Daumier, Grosz, and many others. The caricature embodies the cyclical nature of human expression.