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A Voluptuary Under the Horrors of Digestion

Publisher Hannah Humphrey British
Subject George, Prince of Wales British
July 2, 1792
Not on view
Gillray’s famously brutal caricature of George, Prince of Wales encapsulates the effects of uncontrolled self-indulgence upon the heir to the British throne. Sprawled in his chair after a lavish meal, the prince picks his teeth with a meat fork; his lack of gentility is underscored by the over-flowing chamber pot at his elbow used to anchor unpaid bills. Just thirty years old, his accumulated ailments can be inferred from remedies piled at right – pills and potions to treat "stinking breath", "piles" (hemorrhoids), venereal disease and poor digestion. A portrait on the wall suggests a more effective remedy – depicting Luigi Carnarro, a Venetian nobleman whose life was famously saved by going on a strict diet. By including "Voluptuary" in the title, Gillray invoked contemporary worries that traditional British masculine virtues were being enervated by a culture obsessed with luxury.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Voluptuary Under the Horrors of Digestion
  • Artist: James Gillray (British, London 1756–1815 London)
  • Publisher: Hannah Humphrey (British, ca. 1745–1819)
  • Subject: George, Prince of Wales (British, London 1762–1830 Windsor)
  • Date: July 2, 1792
  • Medium: Hand-colored etching
  • Dimensions: sheet: 14 3/8 x 11 9/16 in. (36.5 x 29.3 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Adele S. Gollin, 1976
  • Object Number: 1976.602.22
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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