A Visit to the Aunt
December 20, 1794
Medium
Hand-colored etching and aquatint
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 6 11/16 × 8 3/4 in. (17 × 22.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.533.493
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Rowlandson’s “A Visit to the Aunt,” published on December 20, 1794, offers a lively glimpse into late Georgian social life through the lens of satire. Rowlandson, a leading Britishaturist of the period collaborated here with aquatint Francis Jukes and publisher. W. Fores to create this hand-colored etching and aquatint. The modest sheet size made such prints affordable and widely circulated, allowing middle-class viewers to enjoy humorous commentary on everyday manners. The scene gently mocks the rituals of family visits, complete with servants and the inevitable household pets. Rowlan...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson|Francis Jukes|S. W. Fores · 1756–1827
Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827) was an English artist and caricaturist whose satirical watercolors and prints captured the social life of Georgian Britain with unparalleled wit and technical mastery. Alongside James Gillray, he is recognized as one of the greatest British graphic artists, and his distinctive flowing line and keen observations have made his work integral to understanding late 18th an...