Britannia Roused, or the Coalition Monsters Destroyed
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 1/8 x 8 7/16 in. (28.3 x 21.5 cm) Plate: 10 13/16 × 8 3/8 in. (27.4 × 21.3 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
59.533.39
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Britannia Roused or the Coalition Monsters Destroy*, a vibrant etching by the renowned British caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson dated February 3,1784. Measuring about 11 x 8 inches, this print from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Elisha Whittelsey Collection captures the sharp wit of Georgian-era satire. Rowlandson, a master of humorous and biting commentary, used etching—a technique that allowed for detailed lines and mass production—to disseminate political jabs quickly among London's print-buying public. The artwork skewers the short-lived Fox-North Coalition, a controversial 1783 a...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson|Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford|Charles James Fox · 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...