Caricatures of Scientists: Problems of Source Analysis

Abstract

This article analyzes different methodological approaches in the studies of caricatures of scientists. Satirical drawings are discussed as important sources for the history of science: they reveal little-explored episodes from the scientists’ life; shed some light on the scientists’ psychological, social, and professional characteristics; and influence public opinion even though more indirectly than written documents do. It is shown that their completeness and fairness vary significantly but all of these caricatures have a number of common characteristics such as hidden meaning, emphasis on various features of their subjects’ appearance or character traits, and abundance of meaningful details. Caricatures not only evoke smiles but also help understand whether scientific discoveries were accepted or opposed by society. The analysis of artistic devices used by the caricaturists allows to determine their ideological focus, emotional impact, and power of conviction. The article offers examples of how the caricatures in printed media played an important role in the emergence of myths about scientists and their discoveries. Therefore the historians of science need to decipher the images in the caricatures and elucidate the motives for creating them. Visual sources, presented and analyzed in this paper, were found to be unique in their message, artistic devices, theme, and emotional impact, and therefore were reviewed as complementary sources of information that demand additional resources for their deciphering.