Minneapolis Institute of Art

Lady Godina's Rout: or Peeping-Tom Spying Out Pope-Joan

James Gillray; Publisher: Mrs. Hannah Humphrey

Date

March 12, 1796

Medium

Hand-colored etching

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Gillray satirizes the rage for transparent, low-cut dresses that overtook women's fashion in the mid-1790s. One contemporary magazine described the fad as perhaps the most indecent ever seen in this country. The breast is altogether displayed . . .[the dress] is said to cling so to the figure that nothing can be said to be completely concealed. The print also lambasts high-stakes gaming, portrayed here as a decadent habit of the rich. A number of the players are identifiable, among them Lady Buckinghamshire, a notorious gambler and a favorite Gillray target. Her large figure is depicted from behind. England, Europe

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