One of Richard Doyle’s characteristic caricatures of his immediate circle. Pen and ink. Doyle captures and carefully differentiates the men’s personality traits, at least insofar as they are revealed in their appearance: Dickens is shown as febrile and energetic, Jerrold as somewhat disdainful and Forster as familiar and jovial. Though good likenesses, Doyle stresses the grotesque, particularly in his treatment of Jerrold as a hawk-like figure. The accuracy of all of these likenesses is proved by comparing this image with contemporary photographs. .
Text bySimon Cooke. Image © The Trustees of the British Museum (where it is asset number 314677001). Reproduced with permission.
Created 16 December 2023