Cartoonist, book illustrator, etching artist, painter

Was born in London. There is very little known about his life, though he was well known in his time. At the age of 16, he went to Paris to study Fine arts. He brilliantly painted portraits and landscapes but gave up painting for earning money with caricature. In his caricature, social topics prevail over politics. First caricatures are dated in 1774. Rowlandson traveled a lot around England and Europe studying the life of pubs and gambling houses, which he depicted in his drawings. His unique style allowed to underline the volume of shapes and also bring to light particularities of his characters. Rowlandson used a cane stick to draw and slightly tinted his drawings with watercolour. He also drew watercolour landscapes and genre scenes. His etches looked like quick sketches, he used aquatint and other techniques.
His major works are Tour of Dr. Syntax in Search of the Picturesque, 1812 and The English Dance of Death, 1815–16.
Rowlandson`s works are in the collections of the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
He died on the 22nd of April, 1827 in London.

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