Cut Two & Right Protect
September 1, 1798
Medium
Hand-colored etching and aquatint
Dimensions
Sheet: 12 in. × 14 5/8 in. (30.5 × 37.1 cm) Plate: 10 3/4 × 13 1/16 in. (27.3 × 33.1 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
59.533.763(14)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created in 1798 by fencing master Henry Angelo in collaboration with the celebrated caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson, *Cut Two & Right Protect* captures a dynamic moment of mounted swordplay. This hand-colored etching and aquatint belongs to a series illustrating fencing positions, reflecting the late eighteenth-century interest in both military training and the art of defense. The medium, popular for its ability to combine fine line work with vibrant hand-applied color, allowed such instructional images to reach a wide audience of gentlemen and officers. The scene depicts two riders executing precise fencing maneuvers—“Cut Two,” an angled downward strike, and “Right Protect,” a defensive guard—amid a flurry of horses and combatants. Rowlandson’s lively line and Angelo’s expertise together transform a technical lesson into an energetic composition that conveys both the grace and danger of mounted combat. Today the print offers viewers a vivid glimpse into Georgian-era physical culture and the enduring appeal of prints as both educational tools and works of art.
About the Artist
Henry Angelo|Thomas Rowlandson (British|British) · 1756 |1757 –1835 |1827
British, London 1756–1835 London|British, London 1757–1827 London