Funcking the Corsican
December 6, 1813
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Plate: 9 3/4 x 13 7/8 in. (24.8 x 35.2 cm) Sheet: 10 1/16 x 14 3/16 in. (25.5 x 36 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
59.533.1208
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the turbulent year of 1813, amid the Napoleonic Wars, satirist Thomas Rowlandson created *Funcking the Corsican*, hand-colored etching published by Ackermann in London. biting caricature targets Napoleon Bonaparte, the "Corsican" emperor, at a moment when his Russian campaign had faltered and coalition forces closed in. Rowlandson's work exemplifies the era's explosive political satire, prints like this one fueled public disdain for the French leader through exaggerated, often irreverent imagery. The medium—a hand-colored etching on a modest plate (9 3/4 x 13 7/8 in.)—was ideal for afforda...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson|Rudolph Ackermann, London|Napoléon Bonaparte · 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...