The Chamber of Genius

An artist sits at the edge of his bed, painting a canvas while his female companion sleeps. An infant by her side pours himself a drink from an unguarded bottle while another stokes the flames of a fire. Unaware of everything taking place around him—from the chamber pot he has stepped on to the cat demanding his attention—the artist focuses solely on his craft.

Thomas Rowlandson’s print plays on the Romantic notion of an artistic genius who disregards all mundane concerns unrelated to his art. The poem beneath the etching’s title is a quotation from the ancient Roman poet Juvenal: “Want is the Scorn of every wealthy Fool / And Genius in Rags is turn’d to Ridicule.”