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C1811
Looking at the Comet till you get a Criek in the Neck.
Artist:
Thomas Rowlandson (1756 - 1827)
NAPOLEAN”S COMET Early satirical print depicting a domestic scene of an older man, wearing a dressing gown and night-cap, looking out of a window with a spyglass at the comet of that year. He fails to notice the romantic scene … Read Full Description
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S/N: SATI-1811-ROWL-091–186315
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Details
Full Title:
Looking at the Comet till you get a Criek in the Neck.
Date:
C1811
Artist:
Thomas Rowlandson (1756 - 1827)
Condition:
Top left sheet edge worn, not affecting image, otherwise in good condition. With excellent unfaded original hand colouring.
Technique:
Copper engraving with original hand colouring
Image Size:
230mm
x 320mm
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1811
Description:
NAPOLEAN”S COMET
Early satirical print depicting a domestic scene of an older man, wearing a dressing gown and night-cap, looking out of a window with a spyglass at the comet of that year. He fails to notice the romantic scene between a young woman and man. This is a common allegory, in which those with an interest in astronomy are so distracted by other-worldly thoughts that they fail to see what is going on under their noses.
The first historical comet linked with Napoleon was the Great Comet of 1769 (known also as Napolean’s Comet) and which had an unusuallly red luster and a tail spanning spanning 60 degrees. Napolean’s supporters viewed it as a triumphant sign of his glorious reign. When the second Great Comet appeared in 1811 it was also name Napolean’s Comet and was enthusiastically greetd by Napoleon as his guiding star and the controller of his destiny.
The print was published during the long period when the great comet of 1811 (now known as C/18111 W1) was visible (the comet was visible telescopically from 25 March 1811 to 17 August 1812, and with the naked eye 11 April 1811 to 20 January 1812).
Biography:
Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827)
Rowlandson was a London born artist and caricutarist, educated at the school of Dr Barvis in Soho Square, then “an academy of some celebrity,” According to his obituary of 22 April 1827 in The Gentlemen’s Magazine, Rowlandson was sent to Paris at the age of 16 (1772), and spent two years studying in a “drawing academy. there. In Paris he studied drawing “the human figure” and continued developing his youthful skill in caricature. It was on his return to London that he took classes at the Royal Academy, then based at Somerset House. Rowlandson spent six years studying at the Royal Academy, but about a third of this time was spent in Paris. He was to become one of the most famous of the English caricutarists along side James Gilray.
