Professione caricaturista. Mestiere e immagine del disegnatore satirico nel Regno di Sardegna

After being established in France during the July Monarchy, the medium of illustrated satirical newspaper did not make its appearance in Italy until the 1848 Revolutions. During the period of the Risorgimento it quickly became a fundamental instrument for the struggle and political socialisation thanks to its affordable prices and the interaction between the direct language of the articles and the bold use of visual caricatures. This article will focus its analysis on the material and intellectual production of journalistic caricature at the crucial moment of its birth and during its first commercial development (1848-1855). The analysis will focus on the work dynamics within two satirical magazines: «La Strega» of Genoa and «Il Fischietto» of Turin, both localised in the Kingdom of Sardinia but with different political orientations, editorial structures and readership. This analysis, intertwined with the study of the strategies of the cartoonists’ self-representation (signatures on the caricatures, self-portraits in caricature, communications for the readers etc...) leads to a reconstruction of the emerging process of the professional political caricaturists in Italy, of their new social status, and the role played by the public in their evolution.