Return from Sport
1786 (?)
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 3/16 × 9 3/4 in. (20.8 × 24.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.533.1726
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Rowlandson's *Return from Sport* (1786?), an etching from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, captures the lively spirit of late 18th-century British leisure. Rowlandson, a master caricaturist of the Georgian era, was renowned for his satirical prints that poked fun at society's upper and middle classes. This work, measuring 8 3/16 × 9 3/4 inches, likely depicts a jovial group of men and heading home after a day of hunting or field sports—a popular pastime among the gentry that blended athleticism with social bonding. Etching allowed Rowlandson to infuse hi...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson · 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...