Not currently on display at the V&A

H Beard Print Collection

Print
7th June 1821 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This ironically titled print shows Caroline of Brunswick , wife of King George IV, at a theatre in Genoa. George's disastrous marriage to Caroline provided ample material for the caricaturists of the day. George was mocked for preferring his mistresses to his wife; Caroline received more sympathy but was rumoured to have a string of lovers and was easy to portray as a vulgar attention seeker. Tired of her husband's neglect, Caroline left England to tour Europe and in Italy met Bartolomeo Pergami who became her secretary and constant companion. The couple's relationship caused much scandal. The print shows the immodest Caroline in a stage box with Pergami, drawing the eyes of the all-male audience who find the couple more interesting than the play.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleH Beard Print Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Hand coloured etching
Brief description
Modesty!. Coloured etching caricaturing Queen Caroline and her alleged lover, Bartolomeo Pergami, published by G. Humphrey, 7 June 1821, Harry Beard Collection.
Physical description
Coloured etching entitled Modesty! showing a male theatre audience ignoring the stage and staring at a uniformed man and a woman in a low cut dress sitting in a theatre box.
Credit line
Harry R. Beard Collection, given by Isobel Beard
Subjects depicted
Summary
This ironically titled print shows Caroline of Brunswick , wife of King George IV, at a theatre in Genoa. George's disastrous marriage to Caroline provided ample material for the caricaturists of the day. George was mocked for preferring his mistresses to his wife; Caroline received more sympathy but was rumoured to have a string of lovers and was easy to portray as a vulgar attention seeker. Tired of her husband's neglect, Caroline left England to tour Europe and in Italy met Bartolomeo Pergami who became her secretary and constant companion. The couple's relationship caused much scandal. The print shows the immodest Caroline in a stage box with Pergami, drawing the eyes of the all-male audience who find the couple more interesting than the play.
Other number
f.121-9 - H Beard collection numbering
Collection
Accession number
S.51-2008

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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