Satirical London: Three centuries of satire, sex and scandal
29 March 2006
Fancy poking fun at the filthy rich and famous? Want to discover Vicki Pollard's 19th century London equivalent? Eager to see egos pricked and pompous politicians get their comeuppance? Then come and squirm with pleasure while flying in the face of political correctness at Museum of London’s new exhibition, Satirical London, 1 April to 3 September 2006.
Over 350 social and political satires from the last three centuries go on show from April Fools' Day. Satirical London spares no-one, with images often shocking and always spiced with the popular prejudices which reveal the absurdity and stupidity of the London scene.
The images on display cut through all classes, from coruscating caricatures of the great and not so good, whether in etchings of George III or Prince Charles teacups, to the 'types' recognised by all Londoners: a usual suspects line-up of bankers, businessmen and aldermen, pickpockets, prostitutes and urchins.
Whether taking in the high drama of historical events and political debacles from the Westminster election farce of 1788 to Tony Blair’s current political headaches, or turning up rich intrigues in typical London streets, by focusing on the comic, on vice and folly, on strange contrasts and antisocial behaviour, these satires document the city and its people in a unique way.
Satire grew out of the Italian art of caricature, embraced by footloose but well-heeled tourists on the Grand Tour. Yet London held an exceptional license to lampoon the monarchy and church that was unthinkable on the Continent. The Museum of London’s collection of illustrations shows how the city encouraged and protected the wicked streak in artists, aristocrats and artisans alike, who approached their craft in tones ranging from light-hearted mockery to vitriolic and libellous attacks.
The exhibition includes William Hogarth's powerful prints dissecting the social mores and manners of 18th century London; James Gillray's acidic, biting engravings attacking the art establishment; and Thomas Rowlandson's brutal and dispassionate Georgian images.
Copies of Punch (The London Charivari), launched in 1841, reflect the growing crowd getting in on the jokes of visual ridicule and the fast pace of technological advance, as publishers moved from etching to wood engraving to meet London’s insatiable appetite for send-ups and putdowns.
By 1870 Punch’s weekly circulation had ballooned to 40,000. Literacy was on the increase and authors such as Charles Dickens, William Thackeray and Anthony Trollope looked to the artful humour of illustrators such as George Cruickshank, William M’Connell and John Leech to add a little popular bite to their work.
The original front of Mrs Humphrey's, the famous 18th century London print shop is reconstructed in the gallery to show how window displays brought irreverent prints to the masses. If such stores were crucial for the sourcing and spread of satire, they also gained a dubious reputation as under-the-counter dens of divisiveness and pornography: a shelter for London’s less salubrious hawkers and hookers.
Ian Hislop editor of Private Eye comments, "London was an extraordinary city and it has an extraordinary amount of what satirists thrive on; ‘Vice, Folly and Humbug’. Moreover, because of its size and its variety it was a visual feast – all those busy streets, and pubs and offices and fairs and parks and gatherings to capture on paper - all that wealth and poverty and glamour and dirt. And this of course creates one of the ironies of so much satiric art about London. Whilst it is ostensibly criticising the failings of the Big City, it does it with a vitality and exuberance that can seem more like a celebration. "
The instantly recognisable Spitting Image latex heads of Margaret Thatcher and the Queen Mother join a motley crew of the laughing and laughed at, ranged alongside Toby jug grotesques, ‘sculptoons’, snuff boxes, chamber pots with reviled characters inside (a very literal way of taking the piss) and the peculiarly English phenomenon of the novelty teapot.
All come together to illustrate the complex and often paradoxical nature of satire; its relationship between art and popular culture; resistance and propaganda; outrage and titillation. In sketches and ceramics, punch lines and puppets, Satirical London tips us the wink and invites us to join in with a city laughing at itself.
The exhibition is free and runs until the 3 September 2006. A lavishly illustrated book The Art of Satire: London in Caricature, written by the curator Mark Bills, accompanies the exhibition and is published by Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd, available in soft-back at £19.99 from the Museum. ISBN 0856676136.
See the online Satirical London exhibition.
Museum of London
London Wall
London EC2Y 5HN
Open Monday to Saturday 10.00am-5.50pm, Sunday 12-5.50pm
Admission free
Recorded information: 0870 444 3851 www.museumoflondon.org.uk
Download the press pack (PDF 2.7mb) for full details of the exhibition.
Further information and images from
Marian Williams
tel: 020 7814 5502
email: mwilliams@museumoflondon.org.uk
Tim Morley
tel: 020 7814 5607
email: tmorley@museumoflondon.org.uk