From the Desk to the Throne, A New Quick Step by Joseph Bonaparte the Bass By Messers Nappy and Tally
![From the Desk to the Throne, A New Quick Step by Joseph Bonaparte the Bass By Messers Nappy and Tally by Thomas Rowlandson|Joseph Bonaparte|Rudolph Ackermann, London|G. Sauley [Farnham]](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/dp/thumb/from-the-desk-to-the-throne-a-new-quick-step-by-811258.webp)
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 12 15/16 in. × 9 in. (32.8 × 22.8 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
59.533.1166
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the witty world of early 19th-century British satire with Thomas Rowlandson's etching *From the Desk to the Throne, A New Quick Step by Joseph Bonaparte the Bass Byers Nappy and T*, created on August 18, 1808, and published by Rudolph Ackermann London. This hand-colored print, measuring about 13 by 9 inches, captures Rowlandson's signature style of exaggerated caricature, blending sharp social commentary with playful humor. Printed via etching—a precise intaglio technique that allowed for detailed lines and widespread reproduction—it's a prime example of how prints democratized polit...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson|Joseph Bonaparte|Rudolph Ackermann, London|G. Sauley [Farnham] · 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...