Hanging. Drowning / [Gillray].

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James Gillray
Hanging. Drowning / [Gillray].
hand colored etching
image: 24.2 x 34.6 cm; plate: 25 x 35.2 cm; sheet: 26.7 x 36.7 cm
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan, 1900.
Peel 2892
Published: 
[London] : H. Humphrey, 1795.
Provenance: 
Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.
Summary: 

A design in two compartments; between the two titles is etched: ['Fatal Effects of the French Defeat']. On the left Fox hangs himself in a ramshackle garret. His neck is in a noose which hangs from a beam, his right foot rests on a low stool, his left hand holds the rope. He leans back with an expression of terror, dropping an 'Account of the Republican Overthrow'. On the wall (left) is a half length portrait of 'Pichegru' holding a sabre. The poverty of the room is indicated by peeling plaster showing patches of bricks, by the raftered roof, and a small casement window (right). On the right Pitt and Dundas drown themselves in wine. Both are on the floor; they have overturned a round table behind them from which the sliding bottles pour their contents over Pitt, who holds up a brimming glass in his left hand. He leans against an overturned chair holding a paper: 'News of the Victory over the Carmagnols'; he looks up smiling. Dundas sits behind and on the right, in profile to the right, more serious and more intent. He drinks with concentration, spilling his wine and waving his wig above his head. He wears a plaid over his coat. On the wall is an oval bust portrait of 'George IIId', the head cut off by the upper edge of the design.

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