Details

Subject(s)

• Caricature [Browse]
• Rain and rainfall—Wales—Caricatures and cartoons [Browse]
• Travelers—Wales—18th century—Caricatures and cartoons [Browse]
• Weather—Wales—Caricatures and cartoons [Browse]
• Rowlandson, Thomas, 1756-1827—Caricatures and cartoons [Browse]
• Self-portraits, British—18th century [Browse]
• Artists—Great Britain—18th century—Caricatures and cartoons [Browse]
• Transportation—Wales—History—18th century—Caricatures and cartoons [Browse]
• Horsemen and horsewomen—Wales—18th century—Caricatures and cartoons [Browse]
• Umbrellas—Wales—Caricatures and cartoons [Browse]

Related name

• Merke, Henri [Browse]

Notes

• Medium: Aquatints, Hand coloring
• Depiction: A view in Wales is faithfully pictured. The unsophisticated natives are struck with astonishment at the figure of the travelling artist. Rain, which is now unknown in the Principality, is wrapping the landscape and figures in a moist embrace. The artist's very remarkable umbrella is a poor protection. His hat is limp, For safety his long clay pipe, a luxury difficult to replace, is thrust through a slit in the flap. His lank locks are dripping, the moisture is concentrating, and dropping down his well-defined proboscis. A box contains the artist's larder and wardrobe. His saddle-bags hold the provisions of the hour. Beside him swing his tea-kettle and coffee-pot. His goodly sketchbook is slung across his back.
• Depiction: The easel is folded up on the back of the stumpy pony. Brushes, a palette knife, flasks of oil of goodly proportions, and a palette of extensive dimensions are attached to the animal's neck, and thus equipped, the man of paint and his rough steed are picking a devious way through the saturating moisture up and down the steep mountains of the country. It is suggested that the large and gaunt limner, with his strongly outlined features, and with his long legs slung across a Welch pony, may offer some points of resemblance to the designer.
• Signed in plate, lower left: "Rowlandson delin." ".
• Signed in plate, lower right: "Merke sculp.

Source acquisition

Gift of Dickson Q. Brown, Princeton University Class of 1895.

References

Grego I, pp. 360-362 (discusses the possibility of this caricature being a self-portrait of Rowlandson, but does not assert the idea as fact)

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