James Gillray was a famously prolific artist who produced well over a thousand engraved satires in his lifetime. In later years, when his mental and physical health were visibly deteriorating, George Cruikshank would regard the speed and ferocity with which Gillray worked with something approaching a sense of horror: “Sometimes he would at once etch a subject on the prepared copper plate… unable even to submit to the process of drawing it upon paper… he worked furiously, without stopping to remove the burr thrown up by the [engraving tool]; consequently his fingers often bled from being cut by it”. When not actively engaged in the business of making caricatures, Gillray would draw and paint constantly, his body becoming so accustomed to the habit even when he was at rest, his hand would “pulsate electrically… moving as if in the act of painting”. To observers like the young Cruikshank, it must have seemed as…
It’s amazing how often the gift of such talent has been balanced by a deterioration of health, especially mental, in later years.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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It is sad but seemingly common, as you say. xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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If I were talented I could use it as an excuse for being as nutty as a fruit cake.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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David, we all know you’re crazy like a fox. Hugs.
Sarah, thanks for this fascinating post. More hugs.
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As we age, I don’t think we need an excuse to be nutty!
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A valuable insight into the more private side of the well-known illustrator.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It is indeed.
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It’s fascinating how we see things … I saw the shirt-covered left shoulder of someone, probably athletic, with their arm bent as though running. Attached to that I saw the leg and foot. 🙂
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Which, when you think about it is a rather twisted answer to where Jame’s leg has been all this time!
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Hee ha!
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