The rise of food-based caricature coincides with the life of George IV, the gluttonous Prince Regent and subsequent king, who was a prominent public figure from the mid 1780s to his death in 1830. This was a critical period in British history – and for the monarchy especially – which saw the French Revolution, the surge and defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as the Regency during the madness of George III.
It was an age of great contrasts. Gorgeous architecture and fashion (Bridgerton, anyone?) clashed with the grim reality of life for the masses. The Industrial Revolution drew thousands from the countryside into expanding cities for work – where they often faced hunger and poor-quality food for the first time in their lives.
This peculiar political and social context provided rich pickings for James Gillray, often hailed as the father of the political cartoon, who used intricate etchings to lampoon the rich and famous. Prince George was a favourite target – as he just happened to fit the caricature of the excessive, hard-drinking, lascivious, gout-ridden toff. Evocative of Marie Antoinette’s (fictitious) line ‘Let them eat cake’, the Prince was known for spending a fortune on banqueting while the population beyond the Palace gates suffered.
Cooked goose
George was vain too, and welcomed any portraits that showed him looking gallant and athletic. Gillray’s cartoon named “A Voluptuary under the Horrors of Digestion” was therefore a shock to system, depicting the Prince in post-guzzle stupor. Gillray also dropped in a few unsubtle digs at his subject’s weakness for gambling and sexual vice.
This fast living was juxtaposed with the perceived frugality of his parents – George III and Queen Charlotte – who Gillray portrayed as comparative paupers with more thrifty tastes, such as a boiled egg and salad, or toasting muffins by the fireside.
The future George IV may not have liked Gillray’s cartoons (in fact, he often bought lots of copies to limit their distribution) but nor was he a fool. Caricatures were hugely popular and he didn’t want people to think that their future monarch couldn’t take a joke. With the French royal family losing their heads, now was not the time to appear aloof. Besides, George enjoyed cartoons that needled his rivals and commissioned caricaturists to twist the knife on his behalf.
Sliced, diced and roasted
Gillray’s most famous use of food as a satirical prop was etched in 1805 towards the end of his life, when Napoleon Bonaparte was turning the European map blue. In “The plumb-pudding in danger”, he depicts the French emperor carving up the globe with British prime minister William Pitt the Younger.
Like the best political cartoons, this iconic image combines humour and ridicule with a very serious issue, namely the tumultuous impact of over-zealous leaders. Hasty decisions by colonial powers have brought devasting repercussions over the next two centuries, which continue to play out today.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then it’s safe to say that Gillray has received plenty. His pithy observation has been recreated with different leaders in recent times. From David Cameron, Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron to Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon and Donald Trump, this Georgian meme keeps on hitting the mark.
Caricaturists have continued Gillray’s practice of using food to skewer politicians of all parties. Often, the target will make the job easier through their personal diet. For example, Donald Trump’s love of fast food and Diet Coke offer a quick win.
Ed Miliband’s unfortunate run in with a bacon butty became a symbol of a failed election. Nigel Farage is parodied for his beer, cigarettes (and milkshakes). Boris Johnson has had a whole larder of food-related cartoons thrown down his front.
Why has Gillray’s art endured?
Because humour and exaggeration will often land a serious political message with more speed and power than a news article or programme. Because, just like George IV, politicians have to tolerate them in a free society - and hope that the caricaturist’s pen soon bends to ridiculing their rivals.
And because it’s true what they say: all’s fair in love and food.
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