A notorious gambler, a big drinker, blatant, boisterous, laughing – all hallmarks that apply to Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827). The hedonistic tendencies of this great British caricaturist are also the ingredients of his extensive body of work.
Financial Disaster
Rowlandson had a troubled youth, his mother died when he was still a child and his father was a doomed investor in trading supplies, frequently on the edge of or into financial disaster. For this reason he spent his early life on the streets where he witnessed public hangings, bull-baiting, cock fights, dog fights, and fist fighting commoners and gentlemen.
Beer and Gin
This is where he learned to drink beer and gin but also got introduced to some of the graceful and enchanting pleasures of the public gardens, and the refinement of horse racing at Ascot.
Excellent Technician
Although Rowlandson was a very prosperous artist, an excellent technician and a master of drawing, his work was not always of the highest standards. This could have something to do with his somewhat decadent lifestyle (with vast quantities of strong drink and enormous meals) or that he had to pay urgent bills.
Lust for Life
But when Rowlandson was at his best his drawings had an immediacy, that breath a robust and fun-inspired lust for life. The English art historian Adolph Paul Oppé (1878-1957) described him as follows:
“He had the eyes to see and the hands to represent, had he so wished; but he had himself neither the emotion nor the sympathy with emotion to allow his figures to produce it by quiet means. He could sometimes raise a laugh without forcing his characters into a grimace, but he had always to make them yell if his representations were to excite horror. All this is what makes him so good, at times so consummate a draughtsman.”
Napoleon
In his artistic life, the prolific Rowlandson produced illustrations for novels, joke books, topographical works, caricatures of prominent figures such as William Pitt the Younger and Napoleon Bonaparte, and erotica. His erotic drawings occupy a key position in his entire work.
Erotic Expressions
As you have come to expect from us, our focus will be on his erotic expressions in the remaining of the article. Below you can find images from the book ‘The Forbidden Erotica of Thomas Rowlandson 1756-1827‘ by Kurt von Meier…
A man and woman perform on a stage in public. The man balances silverware on his erected member and the woman lifts her dress. A little devil provides musical accompaniment.
‘A group of sailors make love to some nymphs in a sea cave. One of them is trying to chase away a merman with a giant erection.’
‘A ferocious old man holding a candlestick and a dagger is about to stab the young man making love to his lover. Is she the daughter of the grumpy old man?‘
Hand-colored engraving ‘Susanna and the Elders‘
‘A man catches his wife who is having sex with a jester. The harlequin is about to hit him with a club. The brass kettle underneath the couple displays a nude couple sitting on the phallus-shaped handles.’
‘A showgirl serves two quarreling old men at the same time.’ (Source: atherdiscretion.wordpress.com)
‘A white woman is sitting on the lap of a black soldier while churning milk.’
‘The empress of Russia, Catherine the Great uses her own unique method of reviewing her troop of Hussars, whom she employed as bodyguards. One of them in the background has a toilet break.’
‘Three courtesans amuse themselves with a shy client‘
‘A young female sporting a feathered hat makes love to a sailor lying on a bench. She is leaning forward while waving to a departing ship through a window. Another couple behind them by a window are also engaged in the act of lovemaking. In the foreground to left, a large dog and table with a tankard and glass; above, a caged bird‘ (Source: British Museum)
Thomas Rowlandson’s “Leda and the Swan” after Michelangelo Buonarroti (Source: Society6)
‘A man, three women, a horse and a dog urinate on a dirt road.’
‘A French dance group‘ (late 18th century)
‘El columpio (In the Swing)‘ (18th century)
Click HERE for more Western erotica…!!
For an extensive description on the work and life of Thomas Rowlandson I highly recommend Kurt von Meier’s site…!
Do you think Rowlandson’s erotica is an interesting topic for our site? Leave your advice in the comment box below…!!
Terry
on 23 June 2020Marijn
on 23 June 2020