The Cimabue Browns. (“Train Up A Child,” &c.. George du Maurier Punch 94 (22 January 1881): 30. Click on image to enlarge it.

Antiquated Grandpapa (fresh from Ceylon). “Now, my Darlings, we’re going to make a regular day of it. First we’ll go to the Zoo. Them we’ll have a jolly good blow-out at the Langham Hotel. And then we ’ll go and see the Pantomime at Drury Lane!”

Master Cimabue. “Thanks awfully, Grandpapa! But we prefer the National Gallery to the Zoological Gardens!”

Miss Monna Givronda. “Yes, Grandpapa!—and we would soonah heah Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, or Sebastian Bach’b glorious ‘Passions-Musik,’ than any Pantomime, thank you!”

du Maurier introduces his family of Aesthetes whose home has all the familiar motifs — the sunflower, the Japanese fan, a Japanese screen, what appears to be De Morgan ceramics, and wife whose profile much resembles Jane Morris. This cartoon shows the full panoply of aesthetic household design, light rather than massive furniture, and a circular mirror or metal plaque that du Maurier uses many times in his cartoons.

Life among the Aesthetes

Scanned image and text by George P. Landow [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Bibliography

Punch. Hathi Trust Digital Library online version of a copy in the University of California Library. Web. 4 May 2020.


Last modified 4 May 2020