Mortimer's Early Influence

John Hamilton Mortimer [1740–1779] was a brilliant and precocious artist, draftsman, and caricaturist. By the age of 19, he was already winning prizes for his work, and he seemed equally at home with portraiture, conversation pieces, history painting, line drawings, and caricature. His obvious talent and extravagant personality won him many admirers among the students at the Royal Academy. Both Rowlandson and Gillray fell under his influence.

In Grace Before Meat...Gillray successfully imitates the thinly etched lines and shading techniques of Mortimer. But his figures lack the grace and naturalness of Mortimer's. The use of a central figure whose back is to the viewer is also a technique that Gillray borrows and uses repeatedly in other prints.