Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

From the Desk to the Throne, A New Quick Step by Joseph Bonaparte the Bass By Messers Nappy and Tally

August 18, 1808
Not on view
Joseph, dressed as a lawyer, steps atop a desk with his right toe, while extending his other leg to point his left toe at a map of Spain and Portugal, at Madrid. His hands are raised above his head to hold onto cushions on which is the crown of Spain. Four clerks sit facing each other at the desk he has left, which has double slopes, divided by the low rail from which he steps. One asks: "Why Joseph wither art thou going"; he looks down answer: "Whither - but to fill my high destiny? And like my noble Brother Sway tne Sceptre of another." The other clerks say respectively: "But proverbs tell of many Slips Between the tankard & the lips And really I am apt to give The proverb credit as I live"
and "He must needs go whom the Devil drives and should it cost his Neck; Ownds! what a prodigious step for a Notary's clerk."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: From the Desk to the Throne, A New Quick Step by Joseph Bonaparte the Bass By Messers Nappy and Tally
  • Artist: Thomas Rowlandson (British, London 1757–1827 London)
  • Artist: After G. Sauley [Farnham] (British, active 1805–8)
  • Publisher: Rudolph Ackermann, London (British, active 1794–1832)
  • Subject: Joseph Bonaparte (French, 1768–1844)
  • Date: August 18, 1808
  • Medium: Hand-colored etching
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 13 3/8 × 9 13/16 in. (33.9 × 25 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.533.1167
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
St. Stephen's Walbrook, Thomas Rowlandson British, Hand-colored etching and aquatint
St. Stephen's Walbrook
Multiple artists/makers
November 1, 1809
Banjo, Wood, various materials, British
Banjo
British
mid-19th century
The Entrance Hall of the Regensburg Synagogue, Albrecht Altdorfer German, Etching
The Entrance Hall of the Regensburg Synagogue
Albrecht Altdorfer
1519
Here's Your Potatoes, Four Full Pounds for Two Pence, Thomas Rowlandson British, Hand-colored etching
Here's Your Potatoes, Four Full Pounds for Two Pence
Thomas Rowlandson
1811
Commemorative jug, White-glaze Parian ware porcelain, British
Commemorative jug
British
ca. 1845

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.