'Comedy Spectators' and 'Tragedy Spectators'

These images were printed from a single plate and have been trimmed to form two prints. The reaction of an audience was a popular theme for Rowlandson, who had many friends in the theatre. As well as parodying an everyday sight in fashionable London, the print also echoes a celebrated print by Hogarth of a laughing audience as a row of open-mouthed faces reacting to a scene out of view. Probably purchased by Queen Victoria, 1854 Cats 26 and 27