Dropsy Courting Consumption
Dublin Core
Title
Dropsy Courting Consumption
Subject
Social satire, Medicine in art
Description
During the 18th and 19th centuries certain illnesses became markers of affluence and refinement. Consumption (tuberculosis), was associated with delicate femininity or Romantic sensibility. This print portrays a courting couple, destined for the mausoleum rather than the altar. The anorexic woman represents fashion-foolishness with her flamboyant accessories, including a dainty but impractical fan and extravagant hat. By contrast her suitor is rotund and swollen from dropsy (kidney disease), which like gout was associated with gluttony and intemperance. In the background a second couple with reverse dispositions strolls leisurely through the park beneath a statue of Hercules, paragon of physical strength, who earned his way into heaven through hard work.
Creator
Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827)
Source
[no text]
Publisher
Thomas Tegg, London
Date
1810
Contributor
Debra Cashion, in collaboration with Elisabeth Barrett, '15
Rights
Relation
Format
Hand-colored etching; original dimensions, 336 x 239 mm
Language
[no text]
Type
Still image
Identifier
[no text]
Coverage
[no text]
Files
Collection
Citation
Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827), “Dropsy Courting Consumption,” The Anatomist: Early Modern Medical Satire, accessed April 19, 2024, https://anatomist.omeka.net/items/show/10.