Engravings
The 18th century audience would be familiar with woodcuts and prints, including picturesque scenes and crude caricatures. Often accompanying text, these drawings at times appeared light and witty, often cartoon-like. A closer look at these works shows distinct commentary on social situations and moral attitudes of the era.
The objects of such drawings depended on the artist and the intention of the publisher. As Whiteman notes in his study of prints: "From landscape gardens to naval battles, from important public figures to famous grand tour sites, from the Italian style of the Hampton Court cartoons by Raphael (engraved by Dorigny) to the echt English portraits and theatre scenes embodied in Boydell's Shakespeare (another source of fun for Gillray), the print embodied English taste, prejudice, and pride" (Whiteman 284). It was this representation of English "taste" that made the illustrations so popular amongst all members of society, from the lower class to the aristocracy.
The genre itself exploded during the 18th century, creating a highly skilled group of engravers, as noted by Whiteman's analysis of satirical prints: "...The mere fact that satirists like Gillray actually poked fun at various specific images (Fuseli's Weird Sisters, for example) attests to a familiarity with the work that extended far beyond a circle of connoisseurs. Connoisseurship developed with the increasing skill of English engravers, and as early as the 1780s proofs were fetching two and even three times the price of ordinary impressions" (Whiteman 284). These skilled workers became as famous as the subjects of their scorn, with popular images selling out quickly. As a genre, illustrative work became immensely fashionable, and continued to comment on everything, from politics to fashion.
Other Relevant Works
The Cricket Players of Europe, Matthew Darly
Ruins of Ancient Rome, William Austin
Following the Fashion, James Gillray
A Woman putting on her Cap , H. Humphrey
Exhibition Staircase, Thomas Rowlandson
Tippies of Newton, Richard Newton
The Bostonians Paying the Excise-man, Philip Dawe
The Margate Hoy, Charles Catton
Couple at the Docks with Sailors, Daniel ChodowieckiMadge and Bauldy, David Allen
The 18th century audience would be familiar with woodcuts and prints, including picturesque scenes and crude caricatures. Often accompanying text, these drawings at times appeared light and witty, often cartoon-like. A closer look at these works shows distinct commentary on social situations and moral attitudes of the era.
The objects of such drawings depended on the artist and the intention of the publisher. As Whiteman notes in his study of prints: "From landscape gardens to naval battles, from important public figures to famous grand tour sites, from the Italian style of the Hampton Court cartoons by Raphael (engraved by Dorigny) to the echt English portraits and theatre scenes embodied in Boydell's Shakespeare (another source of fun for Gillray), the print embodied English taste, prejudice, and pride" (Whiteman 284). It was this representation of English "taste" that made the illustrations so popular amongst all members of society, from the lower class to the aristocracy.
The genre itself exploded during the 18th century, creating a highly skilled group of engravers, as noted by Whiteman's analysis of satirical prints: "...The mere fact that satirists like Gillray actually poked fun at various specific images (Fuseli's Weird Sisters, for example) attests to a familiarity with the work that extended far beyond a circle of connoisseurs. Connoisseurship developed with the increasing skill of English engravers, and as early as the 1780s proofs were fetching two and even three times the price of ordinary impressions" (Whiteman 284). These skilled workers became as famous as the subjects of their scorn, with popular images selling out quickly. As a genre, illustrative work became immensely fashionable, and continued to comment on everything, from politics to fashion.
Other Relevant Works
The Cricket Players of Europe, Matthew Darly
Ruins of Ancient Rome, William Austin
Following the Fashion, James Gillray
A Woman putting on her Cap , H. Humphrey
Exhibition Staircase, Thomas Rowlandson
Tippies of Newton, Richard Newton
The Bostonians Paying the Excise-man, Philip Dawe
The Margate Hoy, Charles Catton
Couple at the Docks with Sailors, Daniel ChodowieckiMadge and Bauldy, David Allen