French Liberty – British Slavery
December 21, 1792
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
sheet: 9 13/16 x 13 7/8 in. (24.9 x 35.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Adele S. Gollin, 1976
Accession Number
1976.602.27
Tags
Art Historical Context
**French Liberty – British Slavery (1792) is a biting political caricature by James Gillray, preeminent British satirist of his era, published by Hannah Humphrey. Created amid the French Revolution's chaos, this hand-colored etching the Revolution's promised "liberty" with perceived "slavery" under stable monarchy. Dated December 21, 1792—just as radical Jacobins seized power—this print skewers revolutionary ideals by juxtaposing French deprivation with British abundance, using food and feasting as potent symbols. Gillray's mastery of caricature shines in the etching technique, where intricat...