More of Werter - the seperation / designed by Collings ; etch'd by Rowlandson.

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Thomas Rowlandson
1756-1827
More of Werter - the seperation / designed by Collings ; etch'd by Rowlandson.
etching
image: 209 x 301 mm; sheet: 239 x 318 mm
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan, 1900.
Peel 2523
Published: 
[London] : Pubd. 6 May 1786 by E. Jackson Marylebone Street Golden Square, [1786]
Provenance: 
Formerly owned by Sir Robert Peel.
Notes: 

Title from item.
A satire on Frederick Reynolds's tragedy, 'Werter', a theatrical adaptation of Goethe's "Leiden des jungen Werthers."
Below caption title: Charlotte preserved from destruction by Albert and Hymen whilst Werter in the excess of frenzy puts an end to his existance.
Library's copy trimmed within plate mark.

Summary: 

Werter (left) crouches on the edge of a precipice in a wild frenzy, a pistol in each hand. His hair rises on his head, his hat flies off, his coat is violently blown towards the abyss. A small demon, holding up writhing serpents, pours the contents of a phial on his head, over which a winged skull hovers; a serpent stings him. Hymen, holding Charlotte (right) by a chain attached to her waist, urges her into the arms of Albert, who stands behind, clutching his head. Hymen, a winged and naked youth, holds his torch reversed, directing clouds of smoke upon Werter, which seem to drive him towards the abyss. Charlotte and Albert are irradiated; Charlotte is frantic with grief, a garter inscribed 'Werter' trails below her petticoat. Papers fly into the air, two being inscribed 'Werter'. Cf. British Museum online catalog.

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