Light Summer Hat and Fashionable Walking Sticks for the Year 1801
Original title: Light Summer Hat and Fashionable Walking Sticks for the Year 1801
kurzbeschreibung
Dated 1801, this hand-colored etching by Thomas Rowlandson presents a fashionably dressed gentleman under an oversized hat, a curved walking stick in hand. The print works as a satirical fashion plate for the year 1801.
Description
A man in modish dress stands alone: a broad-brimmed, outsize hat shades his face, and his right hand grips a curved walking stick. He wears a green buttoned jacket, a white shirt with a cravat, and yellow trousers, with black shoes below. The backdrop stays plain and light, which throws the figure forward.
Context
Rowlandson made this caricature at a time when fashion and etiquette were gaining weight in Britain. The exaggeration of the accessories — the huge hat and the curving stick — is there to expose the absurdity of the vogue of the day. The sheet belonged to a series of satirical prints that took up everyday subjects of the early nineteenth century.
Impact
Through its exaggerations the caricature lands as both funny and critical. The viewer is left smiling while the sitter's fashionable get-up is made ridiculous. A clear layout and strong colors sharpen the satirical effect.
Technique
The image began as an etching and was then colored by hand. Rowlandson's line is precise and typical of him: fine strokes and crisp contours. Because the coloring was done manually, every impression carries its own individual note.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)