Politeness
ca. 1779
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Plate: 7 7/8 × 10 5/8 in. (20 × 27 cm) Sheet: 9 1/8 × 12 15/16 in. (23.2 × 32.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Georgiana W. Sargent, in memory of John Osborne Sargent, 1924
Accession Number
24.63.274
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Politeness," a hand-colored etching created around 1779 by the renowned British caricaturist James Gill and published by Hannah Humphrey, captures the sharp of Georgian-era satire. Measuring just 7 7/8 by 10 5/8 inches on the, this intimate print exemplifies booming market for affordable, colorful political and social commentary in late 18th-century London Gillray, a pioneer of the caricature genre, used exaggerated features and ironic scenarios to lampoon human foibles, here targeting male manners under the guise of "politeness." The medium of hand-colored etching was revolutionary for its ...