Caricature

The word caricature comes from the Italian caricatura which derived from the verb caricare, i.e. to exaggarate, to overload.

„Caricature is a deliberately exaggarated portrayal of the characteristic features of persons, phenomena, events, things etc. Often used as a means of social, political or moral criticism; distorted display, mockery. In the fine arts, deliberately distorting the reality in order to make an impression of ridiculous. Most of the caricatures remain at the level of a witty illustration and only a small part reach a higher level of artistic achievement. It is rare in painting and sculpture; its field of activity are drawing and graphics, ranging from sketches to croquis to more technically complex works.“[1]
Croatian Encyclopaedia

Sports caricature belongs to the field of portrait caricature. At first it was part of the sports magazine Tempo and Sprint and daily newspaper sports sections where we find them today as well. During the seventies and eighties of the 20^th century there were many prominent cartoonists who portrayed and skillfully presented Dražen Petrović – Petar Pismetrović (the originator of the idea and one of the founders of the Croatian Cartoonist Association), Oto Reisinger and many others.

In the words of Petar Pismetrović we see many similarities with Dražen: „You don’t become a cacartoonist overnight. There are many secrests and pitfalls of the profession and talent alone is not enough. Work, work and work, however, are the most important along with the possibility to publish in the newspaper because only when the caricature is published can you see whether it succeeded or not. The job of a cartoonist is neither simple nor easy but to reach the top is reserved only for the most persistent, the most talented and the best. That is why it is a rare profession that requires a whole person.“

Caricature – comment, clear message