Search
Skip to main content
Mr. Burke's Pair of Spectacles for Short Sighted Politicians
Mr. Burke's Pair of Spectacles for Short Sighted Politicians

Mr. Burke's Pair of Spectacles for Short Sighted Politicians

Artist/Maker (English, 1748–1823)
Date1791
MediumEtching
DimensionsImage: 12 11/16 × 9 11/16 in. (32.2 × 24.6 cm)
Plate: 13 15/16 × 9 7/8 in. (35.4 × 25.1 cm)
Sheet: 14 1/16 × 9 15/16 in. (35.7 × 25.2 cm)
Credit LineAnnie A. Wager Bequest
Object number1975.131
Status
Not on view
More Information
By 1791 Britons were increasingly divided over the French Revolution, and many, such as conservative politician Edmund Burke, viewed its violence with growing alarm. James Sayer's print portrays the revolution as seen through the eyes of Burke, whose pro-monarchical stance Thomas Paine had recently criticized in The Rights of Man. Burke's spectacles reflect liberal politicians Charles Fox and Richard Sheridan as dangerous revolutionaries. Fox, whose hat bears the French slogan "Vive la Nacion," attacks the tree of England with an axe inscribed "Rights of Man."
Exhibition History
Out of Albion: British Art from the Allen Memorial Art Museum
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 26, 2008 - December 23, 2008 )
Wit and Wisdom: Political and Social Satire in the Prints of Hogarth, Goya, and Daumier
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 27, 2022 - December 23, 2022 )
Collections
  • European
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator. Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Please contact us.