A Voluptuary Under the Horrors of Digestion

Label

Caricaturists, particularly James Gillray, exploited the differences between George III and Queen Charlotte and their son the Prince of Wales, as seen in these pendant prints. The king and queen were often portrayed as frugal and parsimonious, a foil for the extravagant French court. This worked in their favor, putting them on level footing with common Englishmen and women, unlike continental royals. The Prince of Wales, on the other hand, was known for his girth and high style of living. The details of each print are telling: the salad, soft-boiled eggs, and water of the royal couple’s diet and slip covers over the king’s chair contrast with the prince’s fare of roast beef and wine. Note the gambling dice on the floor of the Prince’s apartment and the dinner plate, knife, and fork that serve as the prince’s heraldic shield under his emblem, the three-feathered coronet.

From the 2021 exhibition A Legacy for Learning: The Jane and Raphael Bernstein Collection, curated by Jami C. Powell, Curator of Indigenous Art; Katherine W. Hart, Senior Curator of Collections and Barbara C. & Harvey P. Hood 1918 Curator of Academic Programming; John R. Stomberg Ph.D, Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961s Director; Jessica Hong, Associate Curator of Global Contemporary Art; and Melissa McCormick, Professor of Japanese Art and Culture at Harvard University

Course History

ENGL 20, Age of Satire, Alysia Garrison, Winter 2014

ENGL 21, Reason and Revolution, Alysia Garrison, Spring 2014

ENGL 22, The Rise of the Novel, Alysia Garrison, Spring 2015

ARTH 48.05, Satire: Art, Politics & Critique, Kristin O'Rourke, Winter 2022

ARTH 48.05, Satire: Art, Politics & Critique, Kristin O'Rourke, Winter 2022

ARTH 48.05, Satire: Art, Politics, & Critique, Kristin O'Rourke, Fall 2022

Exhibition History

Pinpricks and Pomposity: The Inventiveness of English Visual Satire, A Legacy for Learning: The Jane and Raphael Bernstein Collection, Class of 1967 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 17–August 28, 2021.

Publication History

John R. Stomberg, A Legacy for Learning: The Jane and Raphael Bernstein collection; Hanover, New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, Hood Museum of Art, 2021, Plate 22, p.39, listed p.98.

Provenance

Andrew Edmunds, London, England; sold to Jane and Raphael Bernstein, Ridgewood, New Jersey, November 26th, 1992; lent to present collection, 2010; given to present collection, 2014.

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