Thomas Rowlandson after George Moutard Woodward

Veneration [&] Admiration

8 x 10

A pair of hand-coloured engravings, etched onto copper by Thomas Rowlandson after the designs of G. M. Woodward and published in London in 1810.

These fabulous caricatures formed part of a very amusing collection entitled "Le Brun Travested. Or Caricatures of the Passions" and were published in London by Rudolph Ackermann in conjunction with Rowlandson and Woodward.

As the title suggests, they are a comical distortion of Charles le Brun's original, altogether more serious work from the C17th. Le Brun (1619-1690) firmly believed that the passions of the soul directly affected the muscles of the face so when feeling inner anger, for instance, the face would automatically show physical characteristics. What Woodward and Rowlandson have done, to great comedic effect, is to take Le Brun's original emotions and give them a vulgar C18th, London twist. In Veneration we see a situation close to any antique dealer's heart. An antiquarian is being shown a cracked old chamber pot but the venerable scholar sees only craftsmanship and beauty. For Admiration our attention turns to a hungry young whippersnapper, ogling a juicy plum pudding through the window of its corpulent and excited owner.
As always, the combined talents (and jocular eye) of Rowlandson and Woodward have produced caricatures that successfully bridge the gap between bawdy humour and artistic ability. They are delightful observations on human nature and remain as funny today as they were when they were first published in 1810.

£675 Pair