"And then there was light"

Valdemar Andersen, Poster for the Asta Lamp
"the only Danish metal threaded lamp, one thread drawn", 1912.
Shown with permission from Designmuseum Danmark.
I apologize for the poor quality of the photo;
it was taken by me for study purposes.

It so happens that two cartoonists unbeknownst to each other meet across the span of a century.

Guaico Caricaturista Grisales, New Generation, August 11, 2016.

In 1912 a critical voice was raised in Denmark against the artistry within advertising. Advertisements needed to concentrate on selling the actual item here and now and not aspire for eternity, it was stated. The very same year Valdemar Andersen drew the poster above, one of his very few on selling an actual item - a light bulb - as decreed.

Only, he did so with a broad grin, creating a situation of magic. The magician has a light bulb for head seeing that in Danish a light bulb shares its word with a pear, which in turn denotes a bright brain. We are in other words at the origin of light, created from within of the human body.

And now the lithely dancing legs and smile from within is passing on the torch to a new generation of light. The light within is leaking through in the contours of the older generation, accentuating the act of love.

Valdemar Andersen, Detail from the poster for the Asta Lamp, 1912.
Shown with permission from Designmuseum Danmark.
I apologize for the poor quality of the photo;
it was taken by me for study purposes.

The cartoon by Guaico Caricaturista Grisales is shown courtesy by its artist and must not be reproduced without his permission.