‘Prenez des Pilules, Prenez des Pilules. Dr Misaubin’, 1739

Description

Mounted etching, entitled ‘Prenez des Pilules, prenez des Pilules. Dr Misaubin.’, designed by Jean-Antoine Watteau, etched by Arthur Pond in 1739, and published by anon. After a lost drawing by Watteau, drawn when he was in London in 1719/20.

This caricature features a portrait of John Misaubin, M.D. (1674-1734), a quack and Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians (admitted 25th June 1719), standing in a graveyard among monuments and scattered bones.

Under his left arm he carries a large clyster syringe, he holds his tricorn hat in his left hand, the arm extended pointing to a monument. Dr Misaubin was a particular target of Hogarth’s graphic satire and was the subject of the satirical dedication of the play “The Mock Doctor” by Henry Fielding (1707-1754). Translated from French into English the title is: ‘Take Pills, Take Pills. Dr Misaubin.’