Lord -, or, The Chapeau Macaroni

     The men in these caricatures are “macaronis.” Originally coined to describe elite young Englishmen freshly returned from the Grand Tour, the term soon came to mean a person of any rank who “exceed[s] the ordinary bounds of fashion.” By the early 1770s, the macaroni was an established male type, distinguishable by his tight-fitting clothes, oversized sword, delicate shoes, and large wig. Frequently mocked for his excessive, “effeminate” concern with outward appearance and promiscuous adoption of foreign styles of dress and comportment, the macaroni confounded established notions of gender, sexual, and national identity.

    Between 1771 and 1773, the print publishers Matthew and Mary Darly produced nearly 150 satirical “macaroni” prints with resounding success. While some of these prints depict generic London types, others contain portraits of well-known individuals. My Lord—or the Chapeau Maccaroni represents Charles Stanhope, Lord Petersham (later third Earl of Harrington) (1753–1829), whose portrait by Reynolds is also included in the exhibition.