Rowlandson print of a monkey merchant with an old Jewish man and his gentile mistress
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 11.875 inches (30.163 cm) | Width: 9.500 inches (24.13 cm)
Creator(s)
- Thomas Rowlandson (Artist)
- Peter Ehrenthal (Compiler)
Biographical History
The Katz Ehrenthal Collection is a collection of more than 900 objects depicting Jews and antisemitic and anti-Jewish propaganda from the medieval to the modern era, in Europe, Russia, and the United States. The collection was amassed by Peter Ehrenthal, a Romanian Holocaust survivor, to document the pervasive history of anti-Jewish hatred in Western art, politics and popular culture. It includes crude folk art as well as pieces created by Europe's finest craftsmen, prints and periodical illustrations, posters, paintings, decorative art, and toys and everyday household items decorated with depictions of stereotypical Jewish figures.
Archival History
The etching was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2016 by the Katz Family.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the Katz Family
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
The etching is one of the more than 900 items in the Katz Ehrenthal Collection of antisemitic artifacts and visual materials.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Print of an etching handcolored on paper of a rotund, gentleman merchant wearing a red jacket, striped vest, and white apron standing outside displaying 3 brown monkeys to potential customers on his left. He has a round, fleshy face with bumpy skin and thick, smiling lips. His left hand is pointing at a monkey wearing a blue coat on his shoulder and his right hand holds the second monkey’s leash, the third monkey is tucked under his arm. Standing in profile beside the merchant, an old gentleman with a walking stick is looking at the monkeys from beneath thick eyebrows, his fleshy lips smiling beneath a large nose. A colorfully dressed young woman with a plumed hat is standing behind the man and pointing at the monkeys, her other hand on his shoulder. The artist's name Rowlandson 1806 is printed within the image, with the caption in a panel along the bottom. The paper is torn and uneven.
Subjects
- Stereotypes (Social psychology) in art.
- Jews--Caricatures and cartoons.
- Jews--Great Britain--18th century--Pictorial works.
- Antisemitism in art.
- Jews in art.
Genre
- Art
- Object