Rudolph Ackermann

Chelsea Hospital

10.5 x 9 inches

Aquatint and line engraving drawn and engraved by Augustus Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson and published in Ackermann's Microcosm of London between 1808 and 1810.

As its title suggests, The Microcosm of London was intended to offer a snapshot of London life, both architecturally and socially, during the Regency. When he was contemplating the project, Ackermann approached two of the most skilled artists of the day who excelled in their fields. Augustus Pugin (father of Augustus Pugin the famous Gothic Revival architect) was well placed to draw the architectural detail but he was not adept at figurative work. For this Ackermann approached the prodigiously talented artist and caricaturist, Thomas Rowlandson. They both worked on the drawings and the copper plates and the results are a very pleasing combination of architectural accuracy enlivened by amusing figurative detail.