Thomas Rowlandson

The Consultation or Last Hope

Thomas Rowlandson's "The Consultation or Last Hope", 1808.

In his famous satirical etchings and drawings of doctors and medical practitioners, Thomas Rowlandson took aim at treatments of the day and outright quackery. In one of his highest regarded etchings, "The Consultation or Last Hope", five doctors 'examine' a patient in his last, painful stage of gout. Behind them a nurse is fast asleep. By the fireplace (where the mantelpiece contains a lineup of failed remedies) other doctors and an undertaker await their respective turns. At this time consultation from multiple doctors was customary. It was also known as 'fee-grabbing', and doctors would hurriedly make the rounds of well to do sufferers for a guinea apiece.

Thomas Rowlandson has supplied the following quotation under the title; "So when the Doctors shake their heads, and bid their patient think of Heaven -- Alls over, good Night."

This original etching entitled, "The Consultation or Last Hope" is printed on early nineteenth century wove paper as published in London by Rudolph Ackermann in 1808. It is a fine, original example of the famous etched art created by the British artist, Thomas Rowlandson, one of England's greatest satirical masters.

The Consultation or Last Hope

View other original etchings by Thomas Rowlandson.

Thomas Rowlandson (London, 1756 - 1827)
#	Title & Artist	Medium	Date	Notes	-
01.-	Admiration etched by Thomas Rowlandson designed by George Moutard Woodward	Original Soft Ground Etching	1800	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Available
02.-	Deadly Lively by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1815	Published by Thomas Tegg, London	Sold
03.-	Doctor Syntax, Copying the Wit of the Window by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Colored Etching & Aquatint	1809 (1st Ed.)	Published by The Poetical Magazine at Rudolph Ackermann's Repository of Arts, 101 Strand, London	Available
04.-	Hot Goose, Cabbage & Cucumbers by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1823	Published by John Fairburn, Ludgate Hill	Sold
05.-	Preaching to Some Purpose etched by Thomas Rowlandson designed by George Moutard Woodward	Original Etching	1801	Publishd by Rudolph Ackermann, The Strand, London	Sold
06.-	The Battle from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Available
07.-	The Bishop from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
08.-	The Consultation or Last Hope by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Etching	1808	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
09.-	The Corporal in Good Quarters by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1808 (2nd Ed.)	Published by S. Howitt, London	Available
10.-	The Death Blow from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
11.-	The Dram Shop from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
12.-	The Duel from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
13.-	The Gaming Table from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
14.-	The Manager's Last Kick, Or a New Way to Pay Old Debts by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	c. 1815	Published in London	Sold
15.-	The Pantomime from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
16.-	The Quaker, and the Comissioners of Excise etched by Thomas Rowlandson designed by George Moutard Woodward	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1807	Pulished by Thomas Tegg, London	Sold
17.-	The Wedding from The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Aquatint & Etching Printed in Colour	1815	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, London	Sold
18.-	The Tooth-Ache, or, Torment & Torture by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Hand-Coloured Etching	1823	Published by John Fairburn, Ludgate Hill	Sold
19.-	Wapping by Thomas Rowlandson	Original Etching	1807	Published by Rudolph Ackermann, Repository of Arts, London	Sold

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Title:	The Consultation or Last Hope
Artist:	Rowlandson, Thomas (London, 1756 - 1827)
Date:	1808
Medium:	Original Etching
Publisher:	Rudolph Ackermann, London
Note:	Thomas Rowlandson: Along with Hogarth, Gillray and Cruikshank, Thomas Rowlandson is at the uppermost peak of English satirical art. Amongst these masters, however, Thomas Rowlandson was the most gifted artist and his compositions seemed the closest to the truth, for he often lived the dissipated style of life he so memorably satirized. After studying in both Paris and London, Thomas Rowlandson began his career as a portrait painter. By 1782, however, he devoted himself almost exclusively to his first love; caricature and satirical art. After receiving a large inheritance, Thomas Rowlandson quickly gambled it away. Losing his fortune at a thirty-six hour card game he is known to have exclaimed, "I've played the fool, but (holding up his pencils) here is my resource."
	Working with such publishers as Rudolph Ackermann, Flores, John Fairburn and Thomas Tegg, Thomas Rowlandson designed many memorable satires single plate satires, such as this original example. In the book arts he collaborated with the famous London publisher, Rudolph Ackermann (1734-1834), to produce some of the finest satirical volumes in the history of art. These included "The Microcosm of London" (1808), the "Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque" (1812) and "The English Dance of Death", published in two volumes in 1815 and 1816.
	Despite his great illustrated works, Thomas Rowlandson's large, single sheet etchings remain his most famous legacy. Some (such as "The Consultation or Last Hope") were both designed and etched by him; others were only designed by him and he also etched some compositions designed by his fellow artists and friends, such as George Woodward and Henry Bunbury.
	"The Consultation or Last Hope" was drawn and etched by Thomas Rowlandson at the height of his creative powers in 1808. It is one of a number of famous medical satires he created throughout his career. Other subjects included treatments for amputation, consumption, ague and fever.
Size:	10 X 14 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
	Matted with 100% Archival Materials
Condition:	Printed on early nineteenth century wove paper and with margins cropped to within one inch of the plate-mark. Containing a tear in the lower right margin which ends slightly within the image at the publisher's name. Else a finely printed, early impression in good condition throughout. This original impression of "The Consultation or Last Hope" represents a prime example of the famous etched art of Thomas Rowlandson, one of England's greatest satirical masters.
Subject:	Thomas Rowlandson, "The Consultation or Last Hope", original etching, medical satires, doctors and medical practitioners, fee-grabbing, Rudolph Ackermann.
Price:	Sold - The price is no longer available.
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