Doctor Syntax Drawing After Nature, from The Tour of Doctor Syntax
c. 1812
Medium
Hand-colored etching and acquaint on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 11 × 18.3 cm (4 3/8 × 7 1/4 in.); Plate: 15 × 25 cm (5 15/16 × 9 7/8 in.); Sheet: 29.5 × 35.7 cm (11 5/8 × 14 1/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
133372
Art Historical Context
Thomas Rowlandson’s *Doctor Syntax Drawing After Nature* captures a humorous moment from the popular early nineteenth-century series *The Tour of Doctor Syntax*, published around 1812. Rowlandson, a leading British caricaturist of the Regency period, collaborated with writer William Combe to illustrate the misadventures the bumbling clergyman Dr. Syntax. Here, the character is shown earnestly sketching outdoors “after nature,” a scene that gently pokes fun at amateur artists and picturesque travel while reflecting the era’s growing enthusiasm for landscape and on-the-spot observation. The pri...
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...