Road to Ruin
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 11 1/4 × 14 7/16 in. (28.5 × 36.7 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
59.533.131
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Rowlandson's *Road to Ruin* (1785) is a vibrant hand-colored etching that captures the artist's signature satirical flair during the indulgent Georgian era in Britain. Rowlandson, a leading caricaturist of his time, delighted audiences with his witty, often risqué depictions of society's follies. This trimmed sheet, measuring 11¼ × 14⅞ inches, features men entangled with female nudes, symbolizing the perilous "road" of vice—gambling, drink, and debauchery—that led many to moral and financial ruin. As a hand-colored etching, the work showcases Rowlandson's mastery of intaglio printing, ...
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...