Friday, May 17, 2013

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Picturesque Etchings and Other Rural Studies, 1792


Picturesque Etchings and Other Rural Studies
Thomas Rowlandson, 1792
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II





Every so often, as I've said before, the Royal Collection exhibits something that's not been seen in a very long time, and, in some cases, centuries.  I was excited to see this etching by Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827), a favorite Georgian-era artist of mine, especially since it also touches on one of my favorite subjects.

The hand-colored etching was published in 1792 and depicts a series of seven vignettes of the sorts of people and places which were common to every day life in London at the time.  We see ladies being assisted from their carriage by a Navy Man, a rather stout vicar on horseback, a Punch and Judy show (hooray!), rowers, an assembly of horses, fishermen and a group of soldiers and civilians drinking.

It's hard to say when the print came into the Royal Collection, but it's only recently popped up in the archives.



Detail
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

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