Thomas Rowlandson was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual social and political satires, as well as a large number of illustrations for novels, humorous books, and topographical works. Like other caricaturists of his age such as James Gillray, his caricatures are often robust or bawdy. Rowlandson also produced highly explicit erotica for a private clientele; this was never published publicly at the time and is now only found in a small number of collections. His caricatures included those of people in power such as the Duchess of Devonshire, William Pitt the Younger and Napoleon Bonaparte.
Thomas Rowlandson, pencil sketch by George Henry Harlow, 1814
A Sermon in Exeter Cathedral, pencil, pen and ink on paper
Discomforts of an Epicure, a self-portrait from 1787, showed that he could aim his caricatures at himself.
Rowlandson at work in later life, drawn by John Thomas Smith
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, was an English aristocrat, socialite, political organiser, author, and activist. Born into the Spencer family, married into the Cavendish family, she was the first wife of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, and the mother of the 6th Duke of Devonshire.
Portrait by Thomas Gainsborough (18th century)
A young Miss Georgiana Spencer with her mother, Margaret Georgiana Spencer. Painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds
With her siblings, Henrietta and George, by Angelica Kauffman, c. 1774. The painting was painted just before Georgiana's marriage to the Duke of Devonshire.
The Duchess of Devonshire by Thomas Gainsborough, 1783.
