The Battle R—L
published June 3, 1816
Medium
Hand-colored etching on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 24.6 × 34.9 cm (9 11/16 × 13 3/4 in.); Sheet, trimmed within platemark: 25.2 × 35.2 cm (9 15/16 × 13 7/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
90077
Art Historical Context
William Heath's *The Battle R—L published on June 3, 1816, is a vibrant hand-colored etching on ivory wove paper, nearly 10 by 14 inches. As a leading British caricaturist of the Regency era, Heath in satirical prints that poked fun at politics, military blunders, and social absurdities. This work, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings Department, exemplifies the era's booming market for affordable, colorful etchings that brought sharp commentary to middle-class homes. Created just a year after the Battle of Waterloo ended the Napoleonic Wars, *The Battle R—L* likely skewer...