Monstrosities of 1825-26 / George Cruikshank

Accession Number

1989/1.71

Title

Monstrosities of 1825-26

Artist

George Cruikshank

Artist Nationality

British

Artist Life Dates

1782-1878

Medium and Support

etching with hand-coloring on paper

Object Creation Date

1825

Object Creation Place

Europe

British

Creation Place 1

Europe

Creation Place 2

British

Credit Line

Museum Purchase

Inscription

Signed, l.l.: Geo. Cruikshank fect Inscribed C.: Monstrosities of 1825. - 6 - Inscribed, l.r.: London Pubd Feby. 10th 1826, by G. Humphrey 24 St James's Strt St James's Inscribed verso, in pencil, l.l.: APG 9216 C.R. in pencil: 86.8.

Dimensions

24.1 cm x 38.6 cm (9 1/2 in. x 15 3/16 in.)

Century

19th century

Primary Object Classification

Print

Primary Object Type

intaglio print

Secondary Object Type

etching

Physical Description

Fashionable figures promenading on a windy day are arrayed in a shallow, congested space across the image field. The blustery wind accents the wind-whipped broad straw hats, ribbons, and skirts of the women, rendering some of them faceless. Three children at the lower left appear as mushrooms while the woman in white behind them has an improbably pinched waistline.

Subject Matter

British printmaking during the Regency period included a healthy dose of satire and several artists, including Thomas Rowlandson and brothers George and Isaac Robert Cruikshank applied their wit to observing the social scene around them. Parodying and underscoring the excesses—“Monstrosities”—of high fashion though the device of a blustery day, Cruikshank exaggerates the broad brimmed millinery of both women and small children who are effectively rendered unidentifiable thanks to the overly generous proportions of their hats. Absurdly pinched waists of the fashionable young women are contrasted with the large woman at left who is shown with ribbons flying in the wind.

Primary Keywords

caricatures

etchings

intaglio printing

muffs

parasols

victorian

wind

Secondary Keywords

image form

transfer method

accessories worn on arms or hands

associated concepts

costume

costume accessories

costume accessories carried

costume accessories worn

descriptors

earth sciences concepts

european

european styles and periods

handwear

image-making processes and techniques

intaglio prints

modern british styles and movements

modern british styles by reign

modern european regional styles and movements

modern european styles and movements

objects we use

people and culture

physical sciences concepts

printing

printing and printing processes and techniques

prints

prints by process

prints by process or technique

processes and techniques

processes and techniques by specific type

scientific concepts

styles and periods

styles and periods by region

visual works

visual works by form

visual works by medium or technique

weather and related phenomena

weather-related phenomena

Rights

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Collection

University of Michigan Museum of Art

Image Size

1337 x 853

File Size

151 KB

Record

1989/1.71

Link to this Item

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1989-sl-1.71/1989_1.71.jpg content_copy

In public portfolios

Fashion and adornments in global history (38)

Grant (36)

HISTART 102 - Prints (31)

History of western sexuality and gender roles (111)

Satire (212)

Social justice (347)

Social justice and art in the 19th century (72)

Victorian studies (77)

Manifest

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1989-SL-1.71:1989_1.71.JPG content_copy