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From the exhibition

Carlo Pellegrini ('Ape'), *Statesmen No. 65*, Vanity Fair, 8 October 1870

Carlo Pellegrini · Chromolithograph, 8 October 1870

Carlo Pellegrini ('Ape'), *Statesmen No. 65*, Vanity Fair, 8 October 1870
Pellegrini's caricature presents a heavyset, auburn-bearded man in a dark frock coat, light trousers, and black top hat held at his side — the exaggerated head and compressed torso being Pellegrini's signature device. The plate is captioned *Statesmen No. 65* with the sardonic legend: *'He does his duty to his party, and is fortunate if it happens to be also his duty to his country.'* The remark is a pointed Liberal-era jibe at party loyalty overriding national interest — squarely aimed at a Chancellor of the Exchequer whose fiscal decisions were read by Vanity Fair's Tory-leaning readership as politically convenient rather than principled. Pellegrini's handling is sympathetic in color but wry in proportion, the subject caught mid-stride, self-important yet slightly ridiculous.

Carlo Pellegrini CC0