J.D. Rockefeller

Carlo de Fornaro's caricature of John D. Rockefeller exemplifies early 20th-century political cartooning's exaggerated portraiture. The artist distorts Rockefeller's facial features—elongated nose, prominent chin, sunken cheeks—rendering him gaunt and serpentine, a visual language common to Progressive Era commentary on monopoly capitalism. The accompanying verse references *King Richard III*, positioning the oil magnate as a villainous figure whose conscience carries "a thousand several tongues." Published during the height of antitrust sentiment, this cartoon weaponizes physiognomy as social critique, using bodily distortion to communicate moral judgment about industrial wealth and power.