Charming Well Again
This is the last of five related prints based on sketches by Gillray's friend and amateur caricaturist, the Reverend John Sneyd. They include:
- Taking Physick (February 6, 1800)
- Gentle Emetic (January 28, 1804)
- Brisk-Cathartic (January 28, 1804)
- Breathing a Vein (January 28, 1804)
- Charming Well Again (January 28, 1804)
For more information and the larger context of the series as a whole, begin with Taking Physick.
Because of (or more likely in spite of) the treatment he has received, the patient we have seen in all the previous prints in his nightcap and slippers is now restored to health. The table that we saw in Gentle Emetic has been returned to its usual purpose as a dining table. And our patient is now able to lift a celebratory glass before a meal of roast bird and eggs. His servant, in full lilvery, smiles along with his master.
© Trustees of the British Museum
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Like all the prints in the set, the etching is elaborately finished with meticulous attention to shading of the clothing, the fall of the table cloth, and the contours of the roast bird. This loving attention to detail speaks volumes about the relationship with John Sneyd. Gillray uses all his skills when he is working on a contribution from what was clearly his best friend after Hannah Humphrey herself.
Sources and Reading
- Commentary from the British Museum on Charming Well Again.
- "Humourism," Wikipedia
- "Heroic medicine," Wikipedia
- "English Caricature: Heroic Medicine–Bloodletting, Emetics, and Laxatives," 'Very Ill!' The Many Faces of Medical Caricature in Nineteenth-Century England & France
- Thomas Wright and R.H. Evans, Historical and Descriptive Account of the Caricatures of James Gillray #483.
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