An Old Maid on a Journey
Original title: An Old Maid on a Journey
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike many travel scenes of its day, James Gillray's hand-colored etching 'An Old Maid on a Journey,' made on November 20, 1804, sets its action in an inn bearing the sign 'the UNION,' with an old maid at the center. The print belongs to Gillray's satirical work on the social life of his time.
Description
At the left foreground a man in a brown suit smokes a pipe and gestures invitingly toward the group. Beside him stand two women: one in a green dress with a fan and a small dog, the other in white with a flower in her hair. On the right are two men in historical costume, one carrying a box with a bird, the other holding a book. A window opens onto a street. Browns, gray, and beige dominate the palette, enlivened by accents of red and blue.
Context
James Gillray ranks among the outstanding British caricaturists of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. His print of 1804 falls in a period of political and social upheaval in Britain. Gillray often skewered social types and everyday scenes, taking up contemporary manners and fashions. The figure of the traveling old maid points to period notions about unmarried women and how society regarded them.
Impact
The detailed execution and satirical exaggeration of the figures make the sheet immediately entertaining. Lively color accents draw the eye to the central figures and reinforce the humorous tone. Altogether the etching offers an ironic commentary on the social role of unmarried women.
Technique
The sheet is a hand-colored etching: an etched printing plate is printed on paper and then colored by hand with watercolors. This method allowed precise linework and individual coloring for each impression. The sheet measures 30.2 x 40.3 cm, the plate 25.1 x 38.1 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)