Terms and conditions of use
The victorious procession to St Paul’s or Billy’s grand triumphal entry, a prelude
1797
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1946
- Gallery location
- 17th & 18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
In this etching, Isaac Cruikshank satirises an imminent procession to St Paul’s Cathedral in celebration of Britain’s recent naval victories. Towards the centre of the group, Prime Minister William Pitt sits astride a bull – representative of ‘John Bull’, a common eighteenth-century personification of England. The bull is burdened with large saddlebags filled with taxes, symbolising the nation’s economic strain. Further back, a tall figure carries a flag depicting rats gnawing at a candle-end and scraps of food and inscribed ‘Savings’. Through this imagery, Cruikshank exposes the hypocrisy of the era’s politicians, whose self-congratulatory display fails to mask the devastating financial consequences of their warmongering.
Artwork Details
printed in ink (in image) l.r.: Lond Pub Dec=r (r in superscript above = ) 11. 1797 by SW Fores .50 Piccadilly – Folios of Caricatures Lent
printed in ink l.c.l.-l.c.r.: The VICTORIOUS PROCESSION to S:t (t in superscript above : ) PAULS. or BILLY’S GRAND TRIUMPHAL ENTRY a Prelude
printed in ink (in image) (on sign) c.l.: A Correct Plan how / 10,000 men may / march to Paris / by the High road / without being seen / or obstructed / by a / Turnpike / H-k-y
printed in ink (in image) l.c.l.: actualy taken from the French at / Dunkirk
printed in ink (in image) u.c.- l.c.r.: (text in speech bubbles and on flags, signs and books)
Purchased, 1946
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of the Joe White Bequest
Level 2, NGV International