1850
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Duellists is a 1850 watercolor by Thomas Rowlandson, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This sketch shows a chaotic street scene with four men. One woman in a long blue dress holds a baby and looks worried. A man in a greenish jacket with a hat and umbrella leans on her, while another man in the background talks to a third. The drawing is loose and quick, with light watercolors and lots of movement. The artist loved exaggerating faces and poses—notice how the man’s umbrella is huge compared to his body. This style made fun of how people acted in real life. Next, check out Thomas Rowlandson (British, 1756–1827) for more of his sharp, funny sketches.
An ink drawing with watercolour on paper by Thomas Rowlandson depicts two men in the foreground preparing for a duel, with their opponents and a doctor positioned in the background. The work may represent the 1809 duel between George Canning and Viscount Castlereagh on Putney Heath. It was part of the collection of Helen and Alfred Mignano before being sold at Christie’s London in 2020 and later bequeathed to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2024.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 1757 – 21 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation.
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