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The Genius of France Nursing her Darling, 26 November 1804

 Item — Box: LF104/7 Box 1
Reference code: LF104/7/89
The Genius of France Nursing her Darling, 26 November 1804
The Genius of France Nursing her Darling, 26 November 1804

Scope and Contents

Artist: James Gillray. Published: Hannah Humphrey. France, a savage virago, dandles a tiny Napoleon seated on her right. hand and wearing a royal robe over his military dress. Above her head she holds a rattle with bells surmounted by a crown. She grins at the mannikin, singing:

"There's a little King Pippin "He shall have a Rattle & Crown, ※ Bless thy five Wits my Baby "Mind it dont throw itself down! Hey my Kitten, my kitten &c &c.

Below the design is a note:

'※"False of Heart, light of Ear, bloody of Hand, "Fox in Stealth, Wolf in Greediness, Dog in Madness, "Lion in Prey: - bless thy Five Wits" - vide Shakespeares King Lear'

Beside her (left) is the plain wicker cradle from which she has snatched Napoleon, who points eagerly at the crown on the rattle, holding up a sceptre. She wears a bonnet rouge with tricolour cockade, a loose dress defining her figure, and sits in a small armchair, decorated with little decollated heads and a guillotine. Hand, dress, and the heads on the chair are blood-stained. Beside her are her spear, dripping blood, and shield; this is tricolour; on it is the bleeding head of Louis XVI above a reversed crown, with the inscriptions: 'Vive la Republique' and 'The Last of Kings'. Pose, shield, and spear suggest a comparison (and contrast) with Britannia. Description from the British Museum.

Dates

  • Creation: 26 November 1804

Conditions Governing Access

Physical item available by appointment in our Reading Room

Extent

1.0 Item(s)

Language of Materials

English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository

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