Dimensions: 10 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. (26.67 x 36.83 cm) (sheet)
Copyright: Public Domain
Thomas Rowlandson made this print titled ‘Miseries of London’, poking fun at life in the city. It gives us insight into the social realities of 18th-century London. Rowlandson captures a chaotic street scene, a jumble of people and classes. Carriages block the road, causing a logjam which particularly affected the upper classes, who found themselves delayed and inconvenienced. Juxtaposed are the working-class individuals who are literally falling off ladders. It's a world where everyone seems to be in everyone else's way. Here the artist is creating a visual commentary on the burgeoning population and the resultant urban disarray. The print satirizes the era's social stratification, economic disparities and the absurdities of urban life. How the artist chooses to represent diverse social classes and their interactions offers a window into the era’s societal tensions. The image leaves us with the impression of a city teeming with life, but also rife with conflict and inequality.
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minneapolisinstituteofart over 1 year ago
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In the early nineteenth century, London overtook Beijing to become the largest city in the world. The resulting congestion made London streets not only slow but terribly noisy. Rowlandson drew a farcical scene of city traffic, with chaotic sidewalks and streets mobbed with people, construction mishaps, and a stream of colliding carriages. The horses rear, the drivers turn their wips on one another, and the passengers are in an uproar. The inscription points out that such ordeals "allow you at least an hour or more than you require to sharpen your wits for table talk."
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