A Peep at a Peer...; or the Guildford Hight Mettled Racer
London: c1821. Etching with extensive hand coloring in watercolor on cream wove paper laid down to archival cardstock, 9 1/4 x 13 1/2 inches ( 235 x 342 mm), margins trimmed inside the platemark. Colors are remarkably fresh and bright.
Yale University's Lewis Walpole Gallery offers the following explanation of the the image, "A satire on Queen Caroline's alleged affair with Bartolomeo Bergami. On the left is the figure of Queen Caroline, with a parasol in her right hand and holding the hand of a child with her left hand. The child says "Only look- how he kicks!!" Her response is "Yes, yes, child- Many will be upset before it's over.-" The donkey, wearing a rosette and elaborate saddle, bucks his rider, Bergami, who says "I'm not a great rider - I only ride a Donkey!!!" A servant dressed in oriental costume makes reference to himself and his master, saying "My master and I are both Greeks." The grotto behind the servant has a sign "Grotto. Villa d'Este"; above the grotto is a wind vane with an arrow pointing left on which is inscribed "Non mi Recordo." The white structure of Villa d'Este proper is seen on the left above the bushes, with Lake Como and the mountains beyond in the center background. In the foreground, amongst the flowers, is a potted orange tree on the left and a potted pineapple on the right."
Item number: 1543
Price: $900.00
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