DOUBLURES of characters
Important acquisition for the Trust Collection

DOUBLURES of characters; - or - striking Resemblances in Phisiognomy. -

JAMES GILLRAY (1756 - 1815) Published 1st November, 1798, by J Wright for the Anti-Jacobin Review. (BM 9261)

Graphic artists at the end of the eighteenth century were fascinated by the popular treaties published by the Swiss physiognomist Johann Kaspar Lavater, who proposed a lexicon of distinguishing signs, arguing that there was a direct and exact correlation between appearance, nature and moral character. Drawing on Lavater's treatise, Physiognomische Fragmente, 1775-78, Gillray skillfully shows how people's character can be seen in the lumps and bumps on their faces, and explores the relationship between the represented politicians' physical appearance, and their moral character.

The Trust acquired this celebrated etching and engraving at The Draper Hill sale at Phillips in June. The print portrays seven leaders of the Opposition, each with his darker double. In the upper row are, from left to right, Fox, Sheridan, and The Duke of Norfolk. Below are Tiernay, Burdett, Lord Derby, and The Duke of Bedford. There are numbers referring to the notes below, and the subtitle of the caricature reveals, 'If you would know men's hearts, look in their faces.' The drawing particularly rankled the Opposition whose fortunes were then at a low ebb.