John Bull Arming The Spaniards
October 3, 1808
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 11/16 × 14 7/8 in. (27.1 × 37.8 cm) Plate: 10 3/16 × 13 9/16 in. (25.8 × 34.4 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
59.533.1185
Tags
Art Historical Context
This hand-colored etching, published on October 3, 1808, by Rudolph Ackermann in London and likely designed by the celebrated caricaturist Thomas Rowlandson, captures a moment of sharp political satire during the Napoleonic Wars. Titled *John Bull Arming The Spaniards*, the print uses the familiar figure of John—Britain’s stout, no-nonsense national personification—to depict British support for Spanish resistance against French occupation. At the center stands Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s brother and recently installed ruler of Spain, whose presence underscores the contested legitimacy of Fren...