A Voluptuary Under the Horrors of Digestion
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
- 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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