‘Milan Commission’, 1820

Description

Mounted hand coloured etching, entitled ‘MILAN COMMISSION!!!’, drawn by King, etched by Isaac Robert Cruikshank and published by Smolky in 1820.

The Milan Commission was instituted by Sir J. Leach in 1818 on behalf of the Prince of Wales to go abroad and gather evidence regarding the alleged adultery of the Princess of Wales. This action, though justifiable, outraged public opinion, as the Prince was a notorious adulterer. This satire sees this as one with the general repression of the time.

This caricature depicts John Bull and Sir J. Leach. John Bull is a national personification of Great Britain in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged man, well-intentioned, frustrated, full of common sense, and entirely of native country stock.

Leach, the Vice-Chancellor, shown in legal dress with bands, but wearing a large lady’s trimmed bonnet, sits on a corded chest marked “COMMISSIO(N) OF _”, the remainde