Vauxhall

This print portraying the pleasure gardens at Vauxhall is after a watercolour by Rowlandson, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1784.

Thomas Rowlandson's engraving depicts the crowd gathered around the Gothic Orchestra at Vauxhall Gardens. The singer leaning over the balcony and singing to the onlookers below is Mrs Carl Weichsel and Rowlandson's print includes some other recognisable portraits.

As well listening to music, visitors are shown consuming food and alcohol. The spectacle on offer at the pleasure gardens attracted a diverse clientele. Among those present here are Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, the Duchess of Devonshire, the actress Mary Robinson, the playwright Edward Topham and the Prince of Wales.

As places offering gaiety and entertainment, 18th century pleasure gardens developed a bad reputation as the century progressed. They were increasingly viewed as places of over-indulgence and immorality, where gambling, prostitution and excessive drinking were readily available. Consequently, the pleasure gardens provided Rowlandson, an artist famed for his satirical output, with abundant humorous material.