Britannia Roused, or the Coalition Monsters Destroyed
Original title: Britannia Roused, or the Coalition Monsters Destroyed
kurzbeschreibung
Britannia herself seizes a stocky, bearded man and hoists him into the air in Thomas Rowlandson's 1784 etching. The satirical sheet measures 28.3 by 21.5 cm and takes aim at the political turmoil of those years.
Description
A winged female figure representing Britannia dominates the picture, her broad, flowing gown billowing around her. She lifts a small bearded man in shirt and trousers, his face frozen in alarm. Clouds and sketchy stretches of landscape fill the space behind the pair. Bodies caught mid-action give the arrangement a restless energy. The etching stays monochrome under even lighting, its caricatural exaggerations, strong contrasts and deliberately placed strokes giving the sheet its character.
Context
Rowlandson issued the print on 3 February 1784, a moment when Britain's politics were unsettled and the coalition of Charles James Fox and Lord North held power. The artist, already known for political satire, picked up the public criticism aimed at that alliance. It appeared as a single sheet for a broad audience well versed in the allusions to the day's politics.
Impact
Britannia seems to hold her opponent aloft without effort, making superiority and victory plain. The exaggerated caricature mixes humour with aggression, drawing a smile from the viewer. The animated arrangement heightens the drama and drives the political message home.
Technique
For this etching the drawing was scratched through a wax or asphalt ground on a copper plate and then bitten with acid. Printing in black ink on paper brought out the delicate lines and hatching. The process allowed both precise detail and large print runs, which mattered for circulating political caricatures.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)