The Tour of Doctor Syntax in Search of the Picturesque, 1809

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William Combe and Thomas Rowlandson published an 1809 poem with pictures called The Tour of Doctor Syntax in Search of the Picturesque. Visually charming and quaint the figure of the lean curate and schoolmaster in his scratch wig and his rusty black suit, with his long nose and chin, caught the public fancy. The device of representing him as a man of learning and of some dignity added to the fun of the ridiculous mishaps into which he fell. In this illustration Doctor Syntax sketches the barnyard animals as a gentleman and two admiring ladies look on. The animals and the woman at the far right all seem to regard the Doctor and his friends with humorous disdain.

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Size: 3800px × 2966px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1800, 1809, 19th, animals, art, artist, artwork, barnyard, book, century, combe, curate, doctor, drawing, duck, early, england, english, farm, geese, historic, historical, history, horse, illustration, male, males, man, men, naturalist, pdc, picturesque, pig, poet, poetry, rowlandson, satire, satirize, schoolmaster, search, sketching, syntax, thomas, tour, william, woman