Italian picture dealers humbugging my Lord Anglaise

In this satirical scene, a young and handsome Englishman is introduced to a disreputable Italian art dealer by an obese Italian nobleman. Potentially on the Grand Tour, the Englishman is being shown a painting purportedly by Guido Reni depicting Mary Magdalene. Other framed paintings hang on the wall behind the three gentlemen. The gestures and demeanour of the two Italian men suggest that they are attempting to con or 'humbug' the English tourist. In 1812, the year that this engraving was published, Britain and France had been at war for two years and Englishmen were not permitted to visit Italy. This engraving, therefore, suggests a certain nostalgia for a time when Italy remained accessible for Grand Tourists. A similar engraving, formerly in the collection of George Francis Child Villiers, 9th Early of Jersey, is housed by Osterley Park, London.