The Contrast 1792. Which is Best?
[Thomas Rowlandson.]
[n.d., c.1792.]
Etching. Plate: 270 x 375mm (10¾ x 14¾''), with very large margins on 3 sides. Creasing. Paper tone.
A satirical print commenting on the barbarity of the French Revolution. The medallion on the left shows the figure of Britannia holding the Magna Carta and the scales of Justice, beneath the medallion are positive words like 'Protection', 'Morality' and 'Loyalty'. On the right is a contrasting medallion showing a murderous Fury walking over the dead while carrying a trident with a head impaled on it representing the French Revolution. Beneath this oval are inscribed words such as 'Rebellion', 'Cruelty' and 'Injustice'. Etched by Rowlandson after a design by Lord George Murray, a Kent clergyman, these prints were circulated as propaganda by the Crown and Anchor Society; the price of the etching was low in order to maximise circulation.
BM Satire 8149 (variation with added grammar.)
[Ref: 48161] £520.00
[n.d., c.1792.]
Etching. Plate: 270 x 375mm (10¾ x 14¾''), with very large margins on 3 sides. Creasing. Paper tone.
A satirical print commenting on the barbarity of the French Revolution. The medallion on the left shows the figure of Britannia holding the Magna Carta and the scales of Justice, beneath the medallion are positive words like 'Protection', 'Morality' and 'Loyalty'. On the right is a contrasting medallion showing a murderous Fury walking over the dead while carrying a trident with a head impaled on it representing the French Revolution. Beneath this oval are inscribed words such as 'Rebellion', 'Cruelty' and 'Injustice'. Etched by Rowlandson after a design by Lord George Murray, a Kent clergyman, these prints were circulated as propaganda by the Crown and Anchor Society; the price of the etching was low in order to maximise circulation.
BM Satire 8149 (variation with added grammar.)
[Ref: 48161] £520.00