The Daily Valdemar No. 23: April 4

Valdemar Andersen, full-page for the satirical magazine Klods-Hans,
 January 31, 1909.

Today's moment of calm is transforming an actor within popular culture to a place in cultural history.

No one who has seen him shall ever forget his mask; especially the sad moustache, the thick protruding lower lip, and that mimetic acting all through the play, the author Johannes V. Jensen wrote on the comedian Olaf Poulsen in the latter's best loved role. 

Olaf Poulsen came from a family of actors and was one of the comedians par excellence at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen in the decades before and right after 1900. Said best loved role was in Genboerne (i.e. The Neighbours) by J. Chr. Hostrup in which he played a menial lieutenant, lost in life and trying to fit in only to be a laughing-stock among the young. Jensen characterized his acting as one of animal power, strutting and roaring with his face as if made of rubber. The face was his tool Jensen concluded in 1916 and wrote that he was saving photos of Poulsen for a scientific study on physiognomy and the aesthetics of form and the soul. 

The study on physiognomy would go on to have a troubled life a few decades later, but Valdemar Andersen, who was a close friend of Jensen's kept a page among his own sketches from a magazine with a promotional photo of Olaf Poulsen in this role. In the photo Olaf Poulsen seems to be wearing a half mask, disclosing his indeed very protruding lower lip, which as Jensen stated would take a good physique to keep it so protruding all through the play. 

The photo already had it all in terms of his mask and posing promoted for everyone to see. Any cartoon would have to do so much more. Valdemar chose to give him a Japanese Noh full-face mask highlighting in red the distortions of his features on the rubber quality of his acting. The mask places Poulsen in a category of a great and honoured piece of cultural history rather than a comic effect of here and now. To this Valdemar further opened his figure so that he is not as much posing as he is in movement. We see the strength and robust presence Olaf Poulsen gave to his acting. 

Even more importantly Valdemar portrays him as a layered character with tragedy behind the comedy. We understand his character and recognize him in ourselves. That is the special strength of the great cartoonist.