Uncorking Old Sherry
Original title: Uncorking Old Sherry
kurzbeschreibung
James Gillray's 1805 caricature "Uncorking Old Sherry" presents a man in a blue suit prying open a bottle with a pair of tongs. The hand-coloured etching lampoons the excess of talk and the repetitions in public rhetoric. The print is held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Description
A man in a blue suit uncorks a bottle with tongs, and this action takes over the whole image. Various liquids spray from the bottle, labelled with words such as "Old Port", "Old Puss" and "Old Sherry". Other inscriptions like "Stolen Jets", "Inventories" and "Dramatic Rantings" accompany the streams that escape. Dynamic lines and strong patches of colour carry the satirical overstatement.
Context
The etching was made on 10 March 1805 in London, at a time when political and social satire was flourishing. Gillray was among Britain's best-known caricaturists and often worked for the publisher Hannah Humphrey. The motif of the uncorked sherry points to the period's discourse on alcohol, rhetoric and public speaking. Exactly who was the target of the satire, or what occasion prompted it, is not clearly recorded; Gillray frequently took aim at contemporary figures and events.
Impact
The crowded imagery and the repeated lettering leave the viewer with a sense of chaos that is comic at the same time. Precise drawing and satirical exaggeration produce an immediate comic effect. One smiles and at the same time begins to think about how slogans empty out of meaning.
Technique
The piece is a hand-coloured etching: the plate was first etched and then coloured by hand with watercolours. The plate measures 35.7 x 25.4 cm, the sheet somewhat larger. This technique was typical of Gillray's caricatures, allowing detailed linework and lively colour accents.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)