Thomas Rowlandson for Tegg's Caricatures

A Hitt at Backgammon.

16 x 12 inches

A grotesque caricature (in exceptionally vibrant, original colour) etched by Thomas Rowlandson and published as part of Tegg's collection of Caricatures in London circa 1810.

Nobody quite matches up to exuberance and vulgarity of Rowlandson's social satires that were so popular during the reign of George III. In this vignette we see a husband and wife, warts 'n' all, with corpulent bellies, exaggerated facial features, heaving bosoms and podgy fingers. There appears to have been some sort of dispute during a game of backgammon and the enraged wife has taken out her irritation by walloping her husband on the head. As the mayhem unravels the dice are scattered, the candles upturned and the cat alarmed. Backgammon, along with chess and playing cards, was a hugely popular way of whiling away an evening at the beginning of the C19th but not all games ended as acrimoniously as this!

£750