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Dinners Drest in the Neatest Manner

Publisher Thomas Tegg British
October 1811
Not on view
Rowlandson addresses the dilemma faced by all who dine out–the mystery of what takes place behind a closed kitchen door. The title restates the hollow promise made to patrons of an inn, whose kitchen we see in operation. Instead of clean food neatly prepared, a grotesque one-eyed cook rolls out a meat pie while bedewing the dish with rheum dripping from his nose and mouth, the stream stimulated by snuff held in a small round box. The slovenly standards of the kitchen extend to a maid with an exposed breast who reaches for a dish and fails to notice rats escaping from it. While Rowlandson trained at the Royal Academy and could produce sophisticated Rococo compositions, he was also a master of ribaldry. Most of his prints in this vein were issued by Thomas Tegg, a London print publisher, who sold the present example for a shilling.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Dinners Drest in the Neatest Manner
  • Artist: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
  • Publisher: Thomas Tegg (British, London 1776–1846 London)
  • Date: October 1811
  • Medium: Hand-colored etching; reprint
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 9 13/16 x 13 3/4 in. (25 x 35 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.533.1439
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Migrants, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Migrants
Thomas Rowlandson
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Going to Ivy Bridge, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Going to Ivy Bridge
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
The Sailor's Return from Active Service, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
The Sailor's Return from Active Service
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Departure of Blanchard and Jeffries' Balloon from Dover, January 7, 1785, Thomas Rowlandson British, Hand-colored etching
Departure of Blanchard and Jeffries' Balloon from Dover, January 7, 1785
Multiple artists/makers
January 1794
Ships and Sailors, Thomas Rowlandson British, Watercolor
Ships and Sailors
Thomas Rowlandson
late 18th–early 19th century

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