Terms and conditions of use
Mental energy
1801
Medium
hand-coloured etching
Measurements
23.6 × 17.6 cm (image) 25.4 × 19.7 cm (image and text) 25.8 × 20.3 cm (plate) 26.5 × 21.0 cm irreg. (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1946
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
In this etching, British caricaturist James Gillray depicts John Fitzgibbon, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and the 1st Earl of Clare. The portrait represents a return to the late sixteenth–century Italian tradition of caricature, in which an exaggerated likeness of the subject in question is captured with little or no explicit satirical intent. Fitzgibbon was a staunch supporter of repressive policies towards Irish Roman Catholics and, from 1793 onward, an influential advocate for the union of Ireland with Great Britain. The publication of Fitzgibbon’s portrait in April 1801 was particularly timely. Just a few months earlier, the Irish parliament had been dissolved and Ireland was formally incorporated into the United Kingdom.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
London, England
Catalogue/s Raisonné
BM Satires 9757; Wright & Evans 509
Printing/Publishing
published by Hannah Humphrey, London
Inscription
printed in ink (in image) l.l.: J.s (s in superscript above . ) Gillray del.t (t in superscript above . ) & fect.t (t in superscript above . ) ad vivum.
printed in ink l.c.: London Publiſhed April 13.th (th in superscript above . ) 1801 , by H. Humphrey N.o (o in superscript above . ) 27, S.t (t in superscript above . ) James’s Street ,
printed in ink (in image) u.c.: Mental Energy.
Accession Number
1573.25-4
Departments
International Prints / International Prints and Drawings
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Humour and Satire Portraits
Subjects (specific)
canes (walking sticks) caricatures fashion (culture-related concept) gentlemen hats men (male humans) menswear profiles (figures)
Movements
Georgian