A Peep into Friar Bacon's Study
King George III is represented as Friar Bacon, standing in a magician's room and holding pointers at three circles, which represent the Constitution during different time periods. From left to right, they are inscribed "Time is Past," "Time Is," and "Time Was." The first shows the king seated on a throne surrounded with rays of glory emanating from him. Two small circles of the two Houses of Parliament sit on the exterior. The second has three circles within it, the King's being the largest, followed by the House of Lords, and then the House of Commons. The third contains three circles of equal size, representing three equal branches of government. Edmund Burke, Frederick North, and Charles James Fox look in through a doorway at left.
Artwork Details
- Title: A Peep into Friar Bacon's Study
- Artist: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
- Publisher: William Humphrey (British, 1742?–in or before 1814)
- Sitter: George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland (British, London 1738–1820 Windsor)
- Sitter: The Right Honorable Edmund Burke (British, born Ireland, Dublin 1729–1797 Beaconsfield)
- Sitter: Charles James Fox (British, 1749–1806)
- Sitter: Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (British, 1732–1792)
- Date: March 3, 1784
- Medium: Etching
- Dimensions: Sheet: 9 1/4 × 12 13/16 in. (23.5 × 32.5 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
- Object Number: 59.533.44(a)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Thomas Rowlandson
1780–1827
Multiple artists/makers
January 1794
Thomas Rowlandson
late 18th–early 19th century
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