'Cymon and Iphigenia'

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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'Cymon and Iphigenia'

by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured stipple engraving, published 2 May 1796
10 1/4 in. x 11 5/8 in. (261 mm x 294 mm) paper size
Purchased, 1947
Reference Collection
NPG D12569

Artistsback to top

  • James Gillray (1756-1815), Caricaturist. Artist or producer associated with 887 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.
  • Hannah Humphrey (circa 1745-1818), Publisher and printseller. Artist or producer associated with 720 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

This portraitback to top

This is a historical work of art which reflects the attitudes and viewpoints of the time in which it was made. Whilst these may differ from today's attitudes, this image is an important historical document.

Gillray's print is a satirical take on the story of Cymon and Iphigenia from Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron (c.1353). The story became well known in England through the poem by John Dryden and paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West and Angelica Kauffmann. The story's theme is the power of beauty to transform brutishness into nobility; the key moment being the chance encounter of Cymon (meaning 'beast') with the beautiful Iphigenia asleep in the woods. His instantaneous love for her sparks a process of self-improvement that concludes with their marriage.

Gillray depicts the scene through a lurid lens. 'Iphigenia' is not the traditional 'beauty' of Western art. She is a weighty, black woman whose fatigue is all too evident. Similarly, 'Cymon' is not a man experiencing an epiphany. He is a predator creeping menacingly towards the vulnerable, unconscious woman. Gillray subverts the original tale into a transformation from decency to depravity to create a scathing attack on the immorality of white slave owners who regularly abused their position of power in overseas colonies.

Placesback to top

Events of 1796back to top

Current affairs

Birth of Princess Charlotte, only child of George, Prince of Wales and Princess Caroline whose marriage soon quickly and publicly degenerates.

Art and science

Fanny Burney publishes Camilla, one of several influential novels exploring social misunderstanding and the fashionable mode of sensibility.
Architect William Chambers completes the building of Somerset House.
Collector William Beckford, the richest man in England, begins construction of his gothic fantasy Fonthill Abbey.

International

Napoleon Bonaparte assumes command of the French armies in Italy and defeats the Austrians at Millesimo and the Piedmontese at Mondovi.
Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, arrives in India as a colonel.
John Adams is elected President of the United States, defeating Thomas Jefferson by three votes.

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