The Man of Feeling, in search of Indispensibles, James Gillray, 1800
etching, h 262mm × w 364mm More details
At the heart of the mayhem in this milliner’s workshop, the Dutch stadtholder’s profile is instantly recognizable. The printmaker capitalized on both the prince’s reputation as a ladies’ man and his poor eyesight. Feeling his way up the skirts of a shocked seamstress, the stadtholder attempts to discover the precise location of her ‘indispensible’ – a kind of pouch women wore beneath their gowns.
