King of the Beasts

Searle was, of course, known for his cat drawings but their larger feline cousins were also a recurring motif- here are Searle's LIONS!

'The King of Beasts' aka 'The Situation Is Hopeless'

The Searle lion is a bewildered, often lackadaisical creature, bemused or bored by his status as King of the Beasts.

'The King of Beasts and Other Creatures' detail (1979)

'Feeble-minded Circus Lion'

'Zoodiac' (1977)

'Young Elizabethan' magazine, 1957

Punch magazine (1960)

 (Original Wilhelm Busch - Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und Zeichenkunst)

One of Searle's best lions; 'The Peaceable Kingdom' (1974)

Of course, the 'Venice Lion' Travel & Leisure magazine cover detail (1972)

'Burma Today, or: Whatever Happened to the Empire? (1987)

 (Original Wilhelm Busch - Deutsches Museum für Karikatur und Zeichenkunst)

Let's Have a Bite!' (2010)

Pigs!

Stephen Nadler at the ever reliable Attempted Bloggery reminds me today, March 3rd,  is Ronald Searle's birthday!
See a celebration of swines over at Stephen's top knotch blog on cartooning and illustration here








Searle was, of course, famous for his cats but there were other creatures he drew almost as often.  These include dogs and birds  (which each deserve a post of their own) but curiously pigs too.

In fact Searle archived his sketches by animal category and the folders were labelled accordingly.  This folder contained sketches of pigs for various projects and also reference photos. Typically Searle would sketch from well researched reference and evolve the cartoon design.

Variations on the 'Moment of Reflection' (1972)

The piece appears to be a potential New Yorker cover proposal?

Sketch for Searle's 'Swine Lake' lithograph

Sketch for Searle's piggy version of Fragonard's 'The Swing' 

'Mislaid Masterpieces: SWINGER by Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806)

Despite its vivacity and virtuosity, this painting (c. 1765) was heavily criticized at the time, for not being sufficiently vacuous.  Furious, Fragonard revised the subject as L'Escarpolette, (Wallace Collection, London), in which he placed even more emphasis on the bestial behaviour of the participants.'

-Ronald Searle: In Perspective

                                                  Also published as a lithograph in the 70s

Here we see an amorous pig rejected by its pachyderm object of desire in a storyboard for an animated spot produced with Ivor Wood

'Adoration'

The following are from Searle's sketchbook for his 'Zoodiac' book

'Gourmand'

'PigSty'

'The Sensitive One'

'Déjeuner sur l'herbe' (1976)

The following were published in 'The Square Egg & the Vicious Circle' 1968

 This pig sleeps well while unnervingly sharing the room with a butchered human!

'This work was drawn in 1974, and it was edited in the back cover of the French magazine Le Fou Parle, issue number 9, in January 1979.' - ecc

We shall end this porcine birthday post with the idealized pig of Rome-ham Antiquity (sorry!)