THOMAS ROWLANDSON (1757-1827)
Dutch Merchants sketched at Amsterdam.
4 Apr 1796RCIN 810468
A hand-coloured print of a group of three Dutch merchants, talking together. Rowlandson travelled to the Netherlands in 1791–2 with his friend and patron, the banker Mathew Michell. Among the studies he made in Amsterdam was a drawing of a group of three merchants, which was the model for this print. Although it is not intended to be humorous, Rowlandson cannot resist playing on the stereotype of the Dutch as smokers, which had originated in paintings by Dutch artists such as David Teniers.
Inscribed in the plate: T Rowlandson / Pubd. April 4th 1796 by S.W. Fores No 50 Piccadilly corner of Sackville St_ / Folios of caricatures lent out for the Evening.