Miseries of London: Going out to Dinner
February 1, 1807
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 10 3/16 x 14 1/16 in. (25.9 x 35.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1956
Accession Number
59.533.965
Tags
About this artwork
Thomas Rowlandson created this hand-colored etching for Rudolph Ackermann's 'Miseries of London' series, published February 1, 1807, depicting the frustrations of navigating London's congested streets when attempting to reach a dinner engagement. The series, inspired by James Beresford's 1806 book 'The Miseries of Human Life,' catalogued the petty outrages, minor humiliations, and tiny discomforts that made up everyday existence in Europe's largest city. Rowlandson's genius for social observatio...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson|Rudolph Ackermann, London · 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...