Carlo Pellegrini ('Ape'), 'Ill-used': Sir James Hudson

Pellegrini's chromolithograph presents Sir James Hudson—diplomat, former Minister to Sardinia—as a stout, white-bearded patriarch in a plain brown suit, hands buried in his pockets. The exaggerated head, dwarfing a rotund body, is Pellegrini's signature grammar. The caption 'Ill-used' reflects Hudson's belief that his long Italian service, which smoothed British relations with Cavour during unification, earned him recognition that Whitehall withheld. The plate is sympathetic rather than savage—the posture is dignified, the expression melancholy—framing Hudson as a neglected servant of the Foreign Office. The comedy is political.