Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) - Set of Four Early 19th C Etchings Doctor Syntax

Description

A set of four early 19th Century etchings with aquatint by the artist Thomas Rowlandson, depicting Doctor Syntax in various scenes and scenarios. On wove laid to backing. Inscribed, drawn and etched by Rowlandson, as shown.

Condition

The condition is typical for a picture of this age including extensive general discolouration and foxing. There is also some residue on the edges of the pictures.

Size

10.7 x 19.1cm (4.2" x 7.5")
Sheet: 14.2 x 22.1cm (5.6" x 8.7")

Artist Biography

Thomas Rowlandson was a watercolour painter, illustrator and social caricaturist. He was born in London in 1756, the son of a bankrupt merchant and was educated at Dr. Barrow's School and at the RA Schools, which he entered in 1772. He made visits to Paris in 1774 and 1777 to visit relatives and the rococo delicacy of his pen and wash drawings probably owes something to this French connection.

Rowlandson hereafter made extensive journeys on the Continent to France, Italy, Germany and Holland and in Great Britain, filling notebooks with a mixture of grotesque humanity and sylvan ideal landscapes. He often travelled with other caricaturists, notably, J. Wigstead and J. Nixon. His work is always tinted pen drawings rather than full-scale watercolour, but he changed his humorous style to do drawings after the Old Masters and figures reminiscent of Thomas Gainesborough.He was one of the major caricaturists to become an extensive book illustrator, particularly in his work for Ackermann from 1798, in The Tours of Dr. Syntax, and The Microcosm of London in 1808.

In later life, Rowlandson's quality of work tailed off, a not surprising feature of someone who was a gambler, dissolute and naturally lazy. The later drawings often show a sloppiness and lack of interest in the subject and as countless versions of one subject exist this is not wholly surprising. He died in London in 1827.