Monstrous Craws at a New Coalition Feast
Original title: Monstrous Craws at a New Coalition Feast
kurzbeschreibung
Where other political caricatures of the period single out a lone target, James Gillray's 1787 etching and aquatint stages a shared meal. Three figures, distorted into grotesques, help themselves from a plate of food that resists identification, and push morsels into one another's mouths.
Description
Three exaggerated figures sit around a large plate whose contents cannot be named. Their dress looks conspicuous and comic, recalling historical or invented characters. A plume of feathers sits on the middle figure's head, while the other two wear ordinary headgear. The arrangement is chosen so that they feed each other. A plain backdrop with an arch or gateway draws the eye to the trio.
Context
The sheet appeared against the backdrop of late eighteenth-century British politics, when coalition governments and political alliances were often attacked in public. Gillray was known for his biting satires on politicians and social abuses. The work was published on 29 May 1787 and takes up the debate over political alliances then under way.
Impact
The grotesque proportions and comic dress give the image a humorous, satirical tone. Overdrawn bodies and gestures sharpen the irony, so that the viewer smiles and at the same time starts to think about political customs.
Technique
Etching and aquatint meet here, as the differing textures and shading make clear. Aquatint allows fine tonal gradations and gives the figures depth, while the etched lines fix contours and details precisely.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)