Alice's Mirrors

The Perils of Too Much Food

Nigel Bruce

• 2 min read
The Perils of Too Much Food
British Museum, 1788

Food and drink appear constantly in art and literature, as well as in film and television, but what about the perils of too much of a good thing? Over-eating, obesity, gout... No artist has better rendered it than the prolific Londoner James Gillray, who died in 1815.

Below is George, Prince of Wales (later George IV), who led an extravagant lifestyle that invited Gillray's satire. The title is exquisite: A Voluptuary Under the Horrors of Digestion.

Library of Congress, 1792

On the other hand, the King himself, George III, was often accused of miserliness. Here he is eating only a boiled egg in a caricature from the same year.

British Museum, 1792

Obesity was the most common side effect. This (below) is the Duke of Norfolk accompanied by two courtesans. For Gillray this was also social commentary directed at the deceit and selfishness of the ruling classes and the monarchy.

British Museum, 1792

Another side effect was gout, a form of arthritis caused by too much uric acid that crystallizes in joints and causes severe pain, most often in the big toe. Gillray himself suffered from it (too much drinking).

British Museum, 1799
British Museum, 1799

More of Gillray's caricatures here (Peeping Tom), here (the French Revolution), here (Regency fashion excesses) and here (British politics). And, if you want to read a completely crazy story, consider the Wikipedia entry for Tarrare, a French man who couldn't stop eating - here.