At Home and Abroad, Abroad and At Home
February 28, 1807
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 7/8 × 8 5/16 in. (30.1 × 21.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.533.972
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Rowlandson’s “At Home and Abroad, Abroad and At Home,” a hand-colored etching published on February 28, 1807, offers a witty glimpse into early nineteenth-century British social life. Rowlandson, celebrated for his lively caricatures and satirical prints, frequently explored the contrasts between domestic routines and the adventures—or misadventures—of travel. The medium of hand-colored etching was ideal for this purpose: it allowed artists to produce affordable, widely distributed images that reached a broad audience eager for humorous commentary on current manners and mores. Created ...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson · 1756–1827
Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827) was an English artist and caricaturist whose satirical watercolors and prints captured the social life of Georgian Britain with unparalleled wit and technical mastery. Alongside James Gillray, he is recognized as one of the greatest British graphic artists, and his distinctive flowing line and keen observations have made his work integral to understanding late 18th an...