Rude Britannia

Recently got the chance to see the fantastic Rude Britannia exhibition at Tate Britain. It's on till September 5th and is wonderful opportunity to see the superb selection of comic art on display from Gillray to Scarfe. There is a selection of caricatures, original artwork and comic art such as the "naughty postcards" and the work of Beryl Cook and even Spitting Image's iconic Margaret Thatcher.

Gerald Scarfe was asked to create several new caricatures for the exhibition some of which are based on Gillray's work; such as his take on the 1797 Prime Minister William Pitt who Gillray depicted as the "giant factotum"

Scarfe decided that William Pitt's legs would make a brilliant entrance to a room so he set about creating an enormous version of this famous print.

There is a video interview on the Tate site with Gerald Scarfe discussing Gillray's work and the influence he had on the caricaturists who followed. Like Gillray, Scarfe will be on of those iconic artists that will be looked back on for centuries to come - a one off.

Rude Britannia runs till Sept 5th at Tate Britain - worth a visit.
Some more images from the exhibition;