Design for "From Warwick Lane"

Design for "From Warwick Lane"

Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Loutherbourg moved to London from Paris in 1771 and worked for David Garrick at the Drury Lane Theatre where he introduced transformative set designs and innovative lighting. During this busy decade he etched "Caricatures of the English," perhaps intending them for the French market. This example centers on a "macaroni physician" who is preceded by four insects. The subject affects continental fashion with his voluminous frock coat, sword, large wig, tricorn hat and cane, and his identity as a doctor is affirmed by the fact that Warwick Lane was the site of the Royal College of Physicians in London from 1675 to 1825. The related set of caricatures was, in fact, published only in London. Torre & Co. issued them in 1775 (Giovanni Battista Torre was a friend of the artist who had traveled with him to England), tand other publishers reissued the set in 1776 and 1790. The memoirs of Henry Angelo describe the subject as "a well-known M.D., the last remaining of the old school," indicating that Loutherbourg was poking fun at an actual person whom buyers of the print in 1775 likely knew. But, repreated later reissues demonstrate that the caricature also operates successfully on more general level. The Museum's collection includes the following prints from "Caricatures of the English": "From Warwick Lane" (2007.49.362), "From Eaton" (62.600.556) and "From Soho" (62.600.557).

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for "From Warwick Lane"Design for "From Warwick Lane"Design for "From Warwick Lane"Design for "From Warwick Lane"Design for "From Warwick Lane"

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.