The genius of Steve Bell

Steve Bell is undoubtedly the finest cartoonist working for the Guardian/Observer group. The Guardian has indulged him as he learned to draw and matured as an artist and for this one is truly grateful. His work seems to fit best with the  tradition of clear, hardhitting imagery. I would hazard a guess that the improvement in Martin Rowson's work owes something to Bell's influence.

Today's cartoon is not one of his best. 

It is a parody of Holman Hunt's  The Scapegoat.

 It shows Speaker Martin as the latest outcast, stumbling in his robes and adjacent to the head of our lamentable Prime Minister. There is the traditional, "apologies to...",  inscribed at the side. 

Cartoonists probably don't do their best work when there is an "apologies to..."situation. They are taking someone else's symbolism and bending it to their own theme and there is an inevitable collision between the original symbolism and the adaptation-which can of course be interesting in itself. The suggestion here is that the Speaker is literally a scapegoat and indeed you could make out a case for this. How many of those turning on him are without sin? His performance yesterday was indeed pathetic. And who would want the support of Sir Stuart Bell?  

When I say that Martin Rowson's work has improved recently I mean to say that it is often clearer and more direct than it used to be. But there is still too much of the more complicated symbolism and lurid, heavy handed clumsiness. He isn't very good with likenesses either.