Experiments at Dover or Master Charley's Magic Lanthorn
July 21, 1806
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 7/16 × 16 1/4 in. (29.1 × 41.3 cm) Plate: 11 1/8 × 15 1/4 in. (28.3 × 38.8 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
59.533.957
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Rowlandson's *Experiments at Dover or Master Charley's Magicanthorn* (1806) is a vibrant hand-colored etching that exemplifies the artist's mastery of satirical caricature during the Napoleonic Wars. Created as Britain faced the threat of French invasion, the print humorously skewers Napoleon I—likely dubbed "Master Charley" inisive British fashion—amid political tensions. Dover, a key Channel port, serves as the backdrop for this whimsical scene, poking fun at Napoleon's grandiose ambitions through the absurd metaphor of a "magic lanthorn," an early projection device used for lantern s...
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...