Art Institute of Chicago

Britannia Between Scylla and Charybdis

James Gillray (English, 1756-1815)

Date

published April 8, 1793

Medium

Etching in dark brown, with handcoloring, on cream wove paper

Culture

England

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The prolific James Gillray often included Classical nautical references in his contemporary political satires. Around the time of the French Revolution, Gillray depicted the British prime minister William Pitt as the wandering Odysseus, who pilots a small vessel holding the buxom Britannia through a dangerous strait toward the “Haven of Public Happiness.” Pitt attempts to steer between two conflicting forms of government: a whirlpool (Charybdis) on the right, symbolizing the crown and absolute monarchy, and a perilous rock with lurking monster (Scylla) on the left, representing democracy.

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