Carlo Pellegrini ('Ape') — 'One of the Lambs of the Political Fold'

Pellegrini presents his subject in pure profile, the classic Vanity Fair pose that strips a man to silhouette and ego. The figure — portly, frock-coated, top-hatted — strides left with a cane, a lit cigar trailing smoke from beneath a heavy white moustache and goatee. The exaggerated nose and jutting jaw are Pellegrini's stock weapons: physical features inflated until character is argument. The ironic caption 'One of the Lambs of the Political Fold' signals a politician viewed by Westminster insiders as a conformist or opportunist rather than a leader. The chromolithograph's warm flesh tones and grey coat are rendered with Pellegrini's characteristic economy — costume as social uniform, face as verdict.