Britannia Between Scylla and Charybdis

Prints and Drawings

published April 8, 1793

James Gillray (English, 1756-1815)
published by Hannah Humphrey (English, c. 1745-1818)

The prolific James Gillray often included Classical nautical references in his contemporary political satires. Around the time of the French Revolution, Gillray depicted the British prime minister William Pitt as the wandering Odysseus, who pilots a small vessel holding the buxom Britannia through a dangerous strait toward the “Haven of Public Happiness.” Pitt attempts to steer between two conflicting forms of government: a whirlpool (Charybdis) on the right, symbolizing the crown and absolute monarchy, and a perilous rock with lurking monster (Scylla) on the left, representing democracy.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: James Gillray
Title: Britannia Between Scylla and Charybdis
Place: England (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Published 1793
Medium: Etching in dark brown, with handcoloring, on cream wove paper
Dimensions: Image: 27.8 × 35.6 cm (11 × 14 1/16 in.); Plate: 30.3 × 36.4 cm (11 15/16 × 14 3/8 in.); Sheet: 31.1 × 39.3 cm (12 1/4 × 15 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Thomas F. Furness in memory of William McCallin McKee
Reference Number: 1928.1529
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/90242/manifest.json

British Museum 8320

Wright & Evans 102

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Suggested Terms

Currently Off View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Catalogues Raisonnés

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.