Description: Phryne Before the Chicago Tribunal political cartoon, 1884

Phryne Before the Chicago Tribunal political cartoon, 1884

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Bernhard Gillam, 1856-1896 (Creator)
Collection:	Historical Society of Pennsylvania large graphics collection (#V65)
Date:	1884-06-04
Alternate Date:	June 4, 1884
Extent:	1 loose page
Call Number:	Bc 612 P 567
Format:	Electronic
Language:	English
Published:	Keppler & Schwarzmann
Subjects and Genres:	Clipping Chromolithograph Political cartoons
Copyright:	Please contact Historical Society of Pennsylvania Rights and Reproductions (rnr@hsp.org)
Online Access:	https://digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/objects/11585
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Summary:	The Political cartoon parodies Jean Léon Gérôme's famous painting Phryne before the Areopagus. In Gérôme's painting, an ancient greek courtesan named Phryne is put on trial for a capital crime. Hypereides, her lawyer, believes she will be convicted, and disrobes her in front of the tribunal. The court is overwhelmed by her beauty and acquits her of the charges. Gillam's political cartoon pokes fun at James Blaine, an 1884 Republican presidential candidate, by illustrating him as Gerome's Phryne. Blaine wears shorts and a bib and is covered in tattoos illustrating his corrupt political dealings. Transcribed on the lower right corner of the image is "with apologies to J.L. Gerome". Whitelaw Reid, editor of the New York Tribune, takes the role of Hypereides and unveils Blaine to the stunned ancient Greek tribunal made up of 19th century prominent Republicans including George W. Curtis, William M. Evarts, Carl Schurz, Theodore Roosevelt, Benjamin Helm Bristow, Warner Miller, William Henry Robertson, John Alexander Logan, John Sherman, James Donald Cameron, Benjamin Harrison, and George Edmunds. According to the Library of Congress, the cartoon also depicts Simon Cameron, but the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's editorial staff is unable to identify Cameron in the cartoon. Gillam, Keppler, and Opper illustrated a number of cartoons featuring the tattooed man. Phryne before the Chicago Tribunal became one of the most well known and controversial political cartoons of the 1884 election.

Summary:

The Political cartoon parodies Jean Léon Gérôme's famous painting Phryne before the Areopagus. In Gérôme's painting, an ancient greek courtesan named Phryne is put on trial for a capital crime. Hypereides, her lawyer, believes she will be convicted, and disrobes her in front of the tribunal. The court is overwhelmed by her beauty and acquits her of the charges.

Gillam's political cartoon pokes fun at James Blaine, an 1884 Republican presidential candidate, by illustrating him as Gerome's Phryne. Blaine wears shorts and a bib and is covered in tattoos illustrating his corrupt political dealings. Transcribed on the lower right corner of the image is "with apologies to J.L. Gerome". Whitelaw Reid, editor of the New York Tribune, takes the role of Hypereides and unveils Blaine to the stunned ancient Greek tribunal made up of 19th century prominent Republicans including George W. Curtis, William M. Evarts, Carl Schurz, Theodore Roosevelt, Benjamin Helm Bristow, Warner Miller, William Henry Robertson, John Alexander Logan, John Sherman, James Donald Cameron, Benjamin Harrison, and George Edmunds. According to the Library of Congress, the cartoon also depicts Simon Cameron, but the Historical Society of Pennsylvania's editorial staff is unable to identify Cameron in the cartoon.

Gillam, Keppler, and Opper illustrated a number of cartoons featuring the tattooed man. Phryne before the Chicago Tribunal became one of the most well known and controversial political cartoons of the 1884 election.

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Phryne Before the Chicago Tribunal political cartoon, 1884

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