Vier karikaturale koppen

About this artwork

Thomas Rowlandson's *Vier karikatur koppen* (Four Caricature Heads), between 1795 and 1800, is a lively pen drawing measuring 271 mm high by 463 mm wide. As a master of British caricature during the late Georgian era, Rowlandson specialized in satirical ink works that poked fun at human folly, social customs, and public figures. This piece exemplifies his signature style: bold, expressive pen lines that exaggerate facial features—bulbous noses, leering grins, and comically distorted expressions—to capture the grotesque and humorous essence of his subjects. Rowlandson's caricatures emerged in a vibrant period of print culture in London, where artists like James Gillray fueled a boom in satirical commentary on politics, fashion, and vice amid the Napoleonic Wars and Regency excesses. Working primarily in pen and ink, often with watercolor accents (though this is strictly pen), he produced thousands of works for publishers like Rudolph Ackermann, making caricature accessible to a wide audience through affordable prints. This drawing highlights Rowlandson's technical prowess in rapid, fluid pen strokes that convey personality with minimal detail, influencing later cartoonists. A gem of 18th-century humor, it invites viewers to chuckle at the timeless absurdities of the human face, reminding us of caricature's enduring role in social critique.