The Headache
published February 12, 1819
Medium
Hand-colored etching on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Image, hand-coloring extends beyond platemark: 21 × 25.8 cm (8 5/16 × 10 3/16 in.); Plate: 20.8 × 25.7 cm (8 1/4 × 10 1/8 in.); Sheet: 21.4 × 26.2 cm (8 7/16 × 10 3/8 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
90045
Art Historical Context
George Cruikshank's *The Headache*, published on February 12, 9, is a delightful example of early 19th-century British caricature. As a leading satirical artist of the Regency era, Cruikshank was renowned for his sharp wit and intricate line work, often poking fun at social follies, politics, and everyday human quirks. This hand-colored etching on ivory wove paper captures mastery of exaggeration and humor, with the coloring—applied by hand after printing—adding vibrant life to the scene, a technique that made such prints highly collectible and affordable for a wide audience. Etching allowed ...
About the Artist
George Cruikshank · 1792–1878
George Cruikshank (1792–1878) was born in London on 27 September 1792, the son of Scottish caricaturist Isaac Cruikshank and Mary MacNaughton. His older brother, Isaac Robert Cruikshank, was also a caricaturist and illustrator, while his sister Eliza worked as a designer. From a young age, Cruikshank assisted his father in the studio, contributing titles, backgrounds, and lettering to cartoons by ...