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Royal Wedding Satire No Match For James Gillray's Georgian Caricatures

The Huffington Post   |  Travis Korte First Posted: 04-27-11 03:39 PM   |   Updated: 04-27-11 03:39 PM

The imminent Royal Wedding between England's Prince William and commoner Kate Middleton has met with a wide array of artwork created in response. The pieces, which cast varying degrees of approval on the nontraditional couple, may appear scandalous by the standards of today's media, but wait until you see some of the images in the slideshow below. Drawn from the large collection of artist James Gillray's work and supplemented with an immortal piece of Richard Newton's, these caricatures were published in England at the turn of the 19th century. They were often merciless depictions of the political, sexual and class issues of the day, and remind us, above all, that scandal is relative.

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"Fashionable Contrasts," 1792
The subtitle speaks for itself: "The Duchess's little shoe yeilding to the magnitude of the Duke's foot."
James Gillray
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The imminent Royal Wedding between England's Prince William and commoner Kate Middleton has met with a wide array of artwork created in response. The pieces, which cast varying degrees of approval on ...
The imminent Royal Wedding between England's Prince William and commoner Kate Middleton has met with a wide array of artwork created in response. The pieces, which cast varying degrees of approval on ...
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mikefina
308 Fans
02:36 PM on 4/28/2011
A whole 'foot' she yields to, eh? Well, I should think so...
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BannedInBoston
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.
1281 Fans
02:18 PM on 4/28/2011
Kind of makes me glad I didn't live in the 18th century...­.
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Sarazzara
La Fanciulla del East Coast
186 Fans
03:10 PM on 4/28/2011
The putrid reeking of the filthy rich would dismay my delicate sensibilit­ies.
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gutenmorgen
a.k.a. poopdeck
123 Fans
02:18 PM on 4/28/2011
I like Aubrey Beardsley better.
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HekmagaJuximaxx
167 Fans
02:04 PM on 4/28/2011
No. 5 (Following the Fashion) reminds me of the pedestal we put celebritie­s and models on, and how they are the new Aristocrac­y, just as sports players are the new Gladiators­.
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BannedInBoston
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.
1281 Fans
02:24 PM on 4/28/2011
The Cult of Celebrity in the Age of Personalit­y....
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Tazirai
125 Fans
01:41 PM on 4/28/2011
Awesome stuff hahaha
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ligligl
feelthy liberal! ...and not just a pretty face!
317 Fans
01:29 PM on 4/28/2011
Time for a Fatwa,
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yappnmutt
humping legs for liberty
368 Fans
01:14 PM on 4/28/2011
i fart in your general direction. it never gets old.
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Phalanxman
Everything in Moderation
190 Fans
12:57 PM on 4/28/2011
I don't know, but in that "Fashionab­le Contrast" cartoon, it doesn't look to me like it's the Duke's foot she is yielding to.
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Sarazzara
La Fanciulla del East Coast
186 Fans
03:06 PM on 4/28/2011
Or since he's an inbred royal, perhaps only half a foot?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
TStringfellow
Wobbly, politically and literally
144 Fans
12:57 PM on 4/28/2011
Wow, the French Revolution one is a real zinger.
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Montcalms Revenge
Plaines d' Abraham
310 Fans
12:10 PM on 4/28/2011
When I was in college I did a paper on the English "media" reaction(n­ewspapers, pamphlets, prints, etc.) to the Irish Rebellion of 1798. I cited several of Gillray's works. He was a sensationa­list, a propagandi­st and downright racist. His portrayal of the Irish as "sub-human­" is stomach-tu­rning. Excuse me if I don't find these prints amusing...­.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Paul Houston
British and a London resident
235 Fans
12:09 PM on 4/28/2011
Gillray's work is absolutely brilliant. I attended an exhibition of his work at the Tate. It is not often you hear people laugh in an art gallery! A lot of his work will still work today. (number 3 you put the bailed out banks in the place of the Royals) Steve Bell of the "Guardian" when he gets stuck for inspiratio­n for a cartoon sometimes wonders "I wonder if Gillray done something about this?" he checks then inevitably finds Gillray has done a cartoon about it.
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beauwulff
132 Fans
11:39 AM on 4/28/2011
Poop and gluttony were big topics back then.
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Sarazzara
La Fanciulla del East Coast
186 Fans
11:54 AM on 4/28/2011
Plus ca change...
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beauwulff
132 Fans
12:10 PM on 4/28/2011
Mais oui ma cherie.
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BannedInBoston
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.
1281 Fans
02:26 PM on 4/28/2011
Plus ca meme chose....
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IamLittleJohnny
66 Fans
 
11:34 AM on 4/28/2011
Now THIS is the kind of stuff that can get a guy to watch the Royal Wedding: Here's another list of how to get guys to watch the ceremony: http://iam­littlejohn­ny.com/201­1/04/28/ho­w-to-get-a­-guy-to-wa­tch-the-ro­yal-weddin­g/
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Sarazzara
La Fanciulla del East Coast
186 Fans
11:55 AM on 4/28/2011
Now YOURS is the sort of post I'd call an advertisem­ent!
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
CintiBlue
305 Fans
11:34 AM on 4/28/2011
Priceless! We have more media but this blows us away - we don't get close to it.. Thanks, HuffPo
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BannedInBoston
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.
1281 Fans
02:33 PM on 4/28/2011
I've seen a lot of 18th century art and, except for William Blake, it doesn't do much for me. The cartoons and political lampoons especially share the kind of grossness you see in these examples without really being very witty or funny. It's as though the artists considered things like obesity, _defecatio­n, and _sex to be funny in themselves regardless of context...­.
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Sarazzara
La Fanciulla del East Coast
186 Fans
03:14 PM on 4/28/2011
Pardon moi, mais...

What context would render defecation witty?
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mnnyer
932 Fans
11:28 AM on 4/28/2011
Speaking truth to power.
Wish our journalist­s now had the guts, or freedom, to do the same.
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IamLittleJohnny
66 Fans
 
11:35 AM on 4/28/2011
I was just reading where an Australian comedy group is not permitted to use the live video feed and perform satire commentary over it...that'­s crazy.. it would be the highest rated version of the ceremony, in my opnion
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
ligligl
feelthy liberal! ...and not just a pretty face!
317 Fans
01:38 PM on 4/28/2011
The Royal Twitts should be broadcast live on Twitter.
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