Raw Weather Possibly 1808

James Gillray created this hand-colored etching, called 'Raw Weather', in England during the late 18th or early 19th century. It depicts an upper class gentleman struggling against the wind and rain, in the countryside. Gillray was a prominent caricaturist, and his prints often commented on the social and political issues of his time. In this image, the artist is using the weather as a metaphor for the challenges and discomforts of life, but also the class issues of the time. The gentleman's fine clothing contrasts sharply with the harshness of the natural world. Is the man out of his element? Is Gillray poking fun at the upper classes' detachment from the realities of everyday life? These are questions that historians of the period can explore further, using sources like letters, diaries, newspapers and journals from the time. These can give us a better sense of how people understood and responded to changing social conditions, and how artists like Gillray participated in the debates of their day.