Love
August 12, 1785
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 1/16 × 8 7/8 in. (17.9 × 22.6 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
59.533.95
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the playful world of Thomas Rowlandson *Love*, a hand-colored from August 12, 1785. This intimate 7 1/16 × 8 7/8 in. print captures a moment between couples—men and women entwined in amorous embrace—reflecting the cheeky spirit of late 18th-century British satire Rowlandson, a master caricaturist often collaborating with publishers like T., delighted audiences with his witty observations of human folly and desire. Rowlandson's style belongs to the vibrant tradition of Georgian caricature, where exaggerated forms and humorous vignettes poked fun at social norms, romance, and vice. Th...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson|T. Smith · 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...