A Classical Subject! "Demitto auviculas, ut uniquoe asellus, Cum gravius dorso subiit onus_"
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 11/16 × 16 1/8 in. (29.7 × 41 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2014
Accession Number
2014.757.5(25)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This 1836 lithograph, titled *A Classical Subject!*, a witty glimpse into British life during the turbulent following the Reform Act. Created as a collaborative print—drawn by John Doyle ( as “HB”), lithographed by Alfred Ducôte, and published by Thomas McLean—it depicts leading statesmen of the day, including Sir Robert Peel, Daniel O’Connell, Lord John Russell, and others, through the playful yet pointed imagery of men and donkeys. The Latin inscription, drawn from classical sources, underscores the satire: it likens overburdened politicians to a donkey whose ears droop under an ever-heavier...
About the Artist
Sir Robert Peel|Thomas McLean|John Doyle|Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby|George William Frederick Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle|Lord John Russell|Alfred Ducôte|Daniel O'Connell (Irish|British|British|British|British|British) · 1797 |1777 |1830 |1788 |1769 |1788 –1868 |1855 |1840 |1850 |1852 |1875
Irish, Dublin 1797–1868 London|British, 1777–1855|British, active 1830–40|British, Bury 1788–1850 London|British, 1769–1852|British, 1788–1875