John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (1766-1839); Richard Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
50
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (1766-1839); Richard Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1776-1839); George Nugent Temple Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (1753-1813); Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle (1748-1825); John Courtenay (1741-1816); Edward Smith Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby (1752-1834); Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough (1750-1818); Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine (1750-1823); Richard Fitzpatrick (1747-1813); King George III (1738-1820); William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (1759-1834); Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845); Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings (1754-1826); Henry Richard Vassall Fox, 3rd Baron Holland (1773-1840); Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne (1780-1863); James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale (1759-1839); Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk (1746-1815); John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent (1735-1823); Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816); Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (1757-1844); George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758-1834); George Tierney (1761-1830); Samuel Whitbread (1756-1815); William Windham (1750-1810)
'The pigs possessed: - or - the Broad Bottom'd litter running headlong into ye sea of perdition' by James Gillray (British, 1756-1815)
Etching with aquatint, with hand-colouring, published by Hannah Humphrey, 18 April 1807
40 x 29cm (15¾ x 11½in) (Image)
Sold for £840 inc. premium

Footnotes

  • The Ministry of All the Talents, or The Broad-bottom Ministry had earlier been satirised by Gillray for their rapacity in 'More Pigs Than Teats'. Here he pursues the swinish analogy, showing them being sent over a cliff like the Gadarene swine for their greed. The Ministry’s crime in fact was to press the King on the question of Catholic Emancipation which he refused to countenance, forbidding even discussion of the subject. A ripped Catholic Bill and a floating rosary reveal the real cause of the King’s anger. The Prime Minister Lord Grenville is the fat pig in yellow landing in the waves. Among the other ministers Richard Sheridan is recognisable in his harlequin costume, the cartoonist’s allusion to his theatrical interests as a playwright. Working purely on a visual level this was one of Gillray’s most successful pieces, and was popular with a wide audience.

Category: Fine Art / Portrait Miniatures

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