Lady Booby attempts to seduce the immaculate Joseph, from "The Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams"
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 4 5/16 × 6 1/4 in. (11 × 15.8 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
59.533.561(2)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This 1792 etching captures a lively scene from Henry Fielding’s 1742 novel *The Adventures of Joseph Andrews*, a satirical response to Samuel Richardson’s *Pamela*. In the image, the virtuous footman Joseph resists the determined advances of his widowed employer, Lady Booby, who has summoned him to her bedroom. The composition highlights the comic reversal of traditional seduction tropes, with Joseph’s steadfast “immaculate” character contrasting Lady Booby’s frustrated desire. Created through the delicate lines of etching—a medium well suited for wide circulation—the print reflects the era’s...
About the Artist
Henry Fielding|Thomas Rowlandson|James Sibbald (British|British) · 1707 |1757 –1754 |1827
British, 1707–1754|British, London 1757–1827 London