Thomas Rowlandson, A Mismatched Couple – 18th-century watercolour painting
Thomas Rowlandson, A Mismatched Couple – 18th-century watercolour painting
Thomas Rowlandson, A Mismatched Couple – 18th-century watercolour painting
Thomas Rowlandson, A Mismatched Couple – 18th-century watercolour painting

Thomas Rowlandson A Mismatched Couple

An original 18th-century watercolour painting – Thomas Rowlandson, A Mismatched Couple.

This humorous signed drawing by Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827) portrays a beautiful young lady conversing with a rotund older man—a theme of mismatch that often features in the artist's works. Small in size and succinct in composition, the drawing is possibly a preparatory study for a larger subject.

Rowlandson often used this theme to supreme satirical effect, depicting a difference in physical features—age, size, beauty—to highlight the the gap between romantic ideals and harsh reality. The theme is taken to a more grotesque extreme in works such as 'Doctor Convex and Lady Concave' and 'Dropsy Courting Consumption' (Metropolitan Museum, New York). By comparison, the social commentary in the present drawing is relatively gentle and genial.

In watercolour with brown ink. On cream laid paper, tipped onto backing paper. Please note the small size of this artwork.

+ Read the Artist Research

Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827)

Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827) was a prolific draughtsman and printmaker whose distinctive social satire has come to define the popular vision of late Georgian Britain.

Rowlandson was born in London in 1757 and lived in central London throughout his life. In 1772 he became a student at the Royal Academy, studying for a period of six years, some of which time was spent in Paris. Preferring paper and print to oils, he began making satires in the vein of his close friend and contemporary James Gillray (1756–1815). His subjects included politicians and royals, such as William Pitt and the future George IV, but he was less fierce than Gillray, and, unlike Gillray, he was also adept at more lyrical subjects such as landscapes.

Rowlandson's most important employer was Rudolph Ackermann, who kept Rowlandson in almost continual employment from 1798 onwards. His drawings and watercolours were also collected by many wealthy patrons, including Matthew Michell, who amassed hundreds of his paintings at his country residence, Grove House in Enfield, Middlesex.

Rowlandson was healthy and industrious up until the last two years of his life. He died in 1827 and was buried in the church of St Paul’s, Covent Garden.

COA
+ Artwork Details

Dimensions: Height: 10cm (3.94") Width: 12.2cm (4.8")

Presented: Unframed.

Medium: Watercolour

Age: 18th-century

Signed: Signed lower left.

Inscribed: No.

Dated: --

Condition: Some brown staining across the lower half, more pronounced on the verso of the paper. Faint crease lines towards the left edge. Fargility to the upper right corner of the sheet. Please see photos for detail.

Stock number: KD-486