Observations upon stilts
Artist
George Moutard Woodward
(English, 1760 - 1809)
Date1804
Object number00054715
NameCaricature
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 360 × 255 mm
Mount / Matt size (B Fini Frame Mount): 560 × 407 mm
Overall (use B fini frame): 590 × 435 × 40 mm
Mount / Matt size (B Fini Frame Mount): 560 × 407 mm
Overall (use B fini frame): 590 × 435 × 40 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA hand-coloured etching believed to be after artist George Moutard of a caricature titled 'Observations upon Stilts'. It depicts Napoleon standing high above the ground on a pair of stilts in his full military uniform and an oversized bicorn hat. He is looking across the Channel at England and John Bull through a spyglass. On the other side, across the water is John Bull standing on a cliff and looking at Napoleon through a telescope.
Napoleon exclaims "How very diminutive everything appears from this astonishing elevation who is that little man I wonder on the Island the other side the ditch – he seems to be watching my motions."
John Bull replies "Why surely that can’t be Bonny Perch’dup in that manner Rabbit him if he Puts one of his Poles across here – I'll soon lighten his timbers."
HistoryThis caricature is one of a collection of seventeen created during the Napoleonic wars and highlights the fortunes of the French Emperor during his rise and fall. It was during this period that the character of John Bull was created as a representation of the solid English yeoman and the caricatures reflect the attitudes common in England at the time.SignificanceThe collection is significant as a contemporary expression of popular British attitudes towards Napoleon and his era. The collection includes works by noted artists James Gillray, Isaac Cruikshank and Thomas Rowlandson and are all original works dating to the first quarter of the 19th century. They are significant in providing a political context for the early years of British settlement in Australia.
