Title
Caricature of Pope Gregory XVI
Creator
Date
c. 1840
Description
A caricature of Pope Gregory XVI made with blue ink on paper (American, c.1840) by James Edward Freeman (American, 1810-1884). The drawing is inscribed in script "Gregorio Sedici/taken by Mr. Freeman, April 4th/after seeing him in St. Peter's." On the reverse is a printed script pass admitting Mr. George Barclay and four guests to the Royal Woods and compound at Delizio di Portici outside Naples; a pass for non-royal personages; dated "Naples 22 February 1844."
J.E. Freeman refers to Pope Gregory XVI in memoir Gatherings from an Artist's Portfolio in Rome (1883), describing his rule as a "burden of paternal despotism" characterized by "perquisitions, sequestrations, imprisonments, fines, and exile" and under which his subjects "groaned and plotted" (p. 30). He characterizes the pope as inadequate for his lofty position: "Gregory XVI rises in all the pomp and full pontificals, his tall figure dwarfed into almost littleness by contrast with the immense scale of the grand architecture that surrounds him" (p. 28).
J.E. Freeman refers to Pope Gregory XVI in memoir Gatherings from an Artist's Portfolio in Rome (1883), describing his rule as a "burden of paternal despotism" characterized by "perquisitions, sequestrations, imprisonments, fines, and exile" and under which his subjects "groaned and plotted" (p. 30). He characterizes the pope as inadequate for his lofty position: "Gregory XVI rises in all the pomp and full pontificals, his tall figure dwarfed into almost littleness by contrast with the immense scale of the grand architecture that surrounds him" (p. 28).
Cultural Origin
American
Medium
ink on paper
Extent
7.75" x 5.75"
Collection
Source
Gift of Mrs. Gwendolen E. Rives, 1972.
Identifier
PSNC.6827
For more information about this item, please contact its owning institution.