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James Gillray

Study for An Old English Gentleman Pester’d by Servants Wanting Places, ca. 1809

Now On View

Description

Maker

Title

Study for An Old English Gentleman Pester’d by Servants Wanting Places

Year

ca. 1809

Medium

Pen and ink and brush and wash on laid paper squared for transfer

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Dimensions

18.6 x 22.9 cm (7 5/16 x 9 inches) (sheet)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Numerous inscriptions in Gillray's hand on recto and verso.

Type

Credit

Jesse Metcalf Fund

Object Number

76.170

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Drawing Closer

March 12 - September 4, 2022

The English caricaturist James Gillray executed this energetic drawing as a preliminary study for one of his infamous printed political satires. Both sides of the sheet are abuzz with different types of marks: ruled grids, rapid hatches, loose squiggles, fragments of writing, and coiled pen strokes. Gillray’s almost frenzied process of invention pushes his preliminary compositions to the limits of legibility. After working over the principal figures to the point where pools of ink start to deface them, the artist drew a grid across the sheet. This technique helped him enlarge the design to the dimensions it would have in the print.

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Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Study for An Old English Gentleman Pester’d by Servants Wanting Places with the accession number of 76.170. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.