Walking Sticks and Round-A-Bouts for the Year 1801
Original title: Walking Sticks and Round-A-Bouts for the Year 1801
kurzbeschreibung
Thomas Rowlandson's hand-coloured etching 'Spazierstöcke und Rundgänge für das Jahr 1801' is dated 8 May 1801 and presents four caricatured figures in historical dress. The landscape-format sheet measures 28.7 × 35.3 cm and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Description
Four figures line up across the sheet. At the left edge, a man in a green suit and black cap, a pipe in his mouth, looks left. Beside him, a woman in a pink dress with a voluminous headscarf carries a green umbrella, also looking left. To her right, a woman in a white dress with a long veil turns her back to the viewer. At the right edge, another man in a blue suit and black cap holds a stick and looks right. The palette remains mostly pastel, with light and dark garments contrasting sharply; the light is evenly distributed, with no visible shadows.
Context
The Englishman Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827) was known as a caricaturist and satirist, particularly for his socially critical prints. This etching was made in London in 1801, when walking sticks and fashionable accessories were gaining importance among the English upper class. It belongs to a series of satirical sheets mocking contemporary fashions and social manners. Rowlandson often worked with the publisher Rudolph Ackermann, who distributed such prints in large editions.
Impact
The exaggerated proportions and facial features are humorous and sometimes mocking—a hallmark of Rowlandson's caricatures. The pastel palette and even lighting give the scene a cheerful, almost theatrical mood. By lining up the figures, the absurdity of fashionable poses stands out and invites comparative looking.
Technique
An etching was made for this sheet: the lines were etched into the printing plate and the impression was then hand-coloured with watercolours. Fine line structures and soft colour transitions are typical of this process. Rowlandson used etching to reproduce quick, lively sketches and to circulate them in larger editions.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)