'Vices overlook'd in the new proclamation'

1 portrait of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

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© National Portrait Gallery, London

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'Vices overlook'd in the new proclamation'

by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
hand-coloured etching, published 24 May 1792
10 3/8 in. x 14 5/8 in. (263 mm x 372 mm) paper size
Purchased, 1947
Reference Collection
NPG D12456

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.

Sittersback to top

This portraitback to top

With enough vices and unfolding scandals to occupy satirists for years, George III's profligate sons provided a rich source of material for artists such as Gillray. Through Gillray's pencil the Prince of Wales developed into an increasingly obese, spoilt and ridiculous figure, surrounded by food, liquor and his string of mistresses. In this instance the heir to the throne is mocked by a fat bawd as he is led, drunk and incapable, into the street. The miserly existence of the King and Queen is contrasted with the wanton gambling habits of the Duke of York. Lastly, the Duke of Clarence - later William IV - is pictured with his actress-mistress Dorothy Jordan, mother of his ten children. As was often Gillray's trick, his visual satire depended on verbal puns: a 'Jordan' was slang for chamber pot.

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Events of 1792back to top

Current affairs

The famous seven year trial of Warren Hastings, Governor-General of Bengal, on charges of embezzlement and murder, ends with his acquittal. Pro-Revolutionary philosopher Joseph Priestley's house is destroyed by a mob on the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille. Their actions are later seen as a key moment in the defeat of Enlightenment ideals in England.

Art and science

Mary Wollstonecraft publishes A Vindication of the Rights of Woman; a radical work which called on women to be allies to one another; fearless in their support and free in their criticism.
Sir Joshua Reynolds dies and is succeeded by Benjamin West as President of the Royal Academy.

International

The mob invades the Tuileries and the French Royal Family is imprisoned marking the end of France's experiment with constitutional monarchy and the declaration of the first French Republic.
The Revolutionary Commune is established in Paris.
France declares war on Austria and then Prussia.

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