Al Hirschfeld - Master Caricaturist

Self-Portrait, Al Hirschfeld

"(Al) Hirschfeld's art style is unique, and he is considered to be one of the most important figures in contemporary caricature, having influenced countless cartoonists. Hirschfeld's caricatures are almost always drawings of pure line with simple black ink on white paper with little to no shading or crosshatching. His drawings always manage to capture a likeness using the minimum number of lines." - Wikipedia

Caricature is an ancient art and of great value to visual artists. The caricaturist must keenly observe and understand the unique visual characteristics of an individual. To do it well, one must thoughtfully and skillfully simplify, emphasize, contextualize, and exaggerate these characteristics to create content.

Link Al Hirschfeld, Wikipedia

Link History of Caricature, Wikipedia

Link The Art of Caricaturing - A 'how-to' digitized book, Mitchell Smith, 1941, Internet Archive