2-871-273 - Shirley Markham Collection/Heritage Images

Discomforts of an Epicure, 1787. 'According to available descriptions of Rowlandson, this is a self-portrait, of course exaggerated. The spirited drawing, the fine consolidation of neutral colors and warm greys, make this a masterpiece in Rowlandson's oeuvre. The well-balanced green and violet in the clothing, heightened by the florid suggestion of red in the face, give life to the subject in the most satisfying manner...Certainly he did not spare himself in this candid record of satisfied complacency...we see a fusion involving the artist's own interpretation of his personality and an artistry which is completely competent'. From "The Watercolour Drawings of Thomas Rowlandson from the Albert H. Wiggin Collection in the Boston Public Library" with commentary by Arthur W. Heintzelman. [Watson-Guptill Publications, Inc., New York, 1947]