THOMAS ROWLANDSON (BRITISH, 1756-1827) Sketch study After th...

Estimate

£800 - £1,200

THOMAS ROWLANDSON (BRITISH, 1756-1827)

Sketch study After the Glorious Battle of [the] Nile

Signed 'Rowlandson' (lower left) and inscribed with title

Ink on laid paper

10½ x 8in. (27 x 20.5cm.)

The published 12 x 16in. engraving (see RMG Object ID PAG8537) carries the full title ADMIRAL NELSON recreating with his Brave Tars After the GLORIOUS BATTLE of the NILE. Rowlandson engraved the plate himself and introduced some corrections such as the grotesque close to Nelson on the left being replaced by a mast, giving the subject (whom Rowlandson doesn't caricature, but turns into an even more romanticised hero) more space to be admired. The engraving was rushed to publication on October 20th 1798 for Ackermans, only ten weeks or so after the action.

time-stained, modest foxing