Richard Rock

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Richard Rock (left) argues with Dr. John Misaubin in a picture by William Hogarth , A Harlot's Progress from 1732, while his patient is dying of a sexually transmitted disease .

Richard Rock (* 1690 ?; † November 1777) was a well-known doctor in 18th century London . He is originally from Hamburg and, according to Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, is said to have been a harlequin before he had to flee Hamburg because of the sale of tooth powder , which he obtained from human skulls . In the absence of other sources, however, it is not certain whether this was just a satirical idea by Lichtenberg, as Rock was also accused of a death by hanging because of a murder in his description, which he is said to have committed when he was over 80 years old.

Rock appeared in 1732 as a character in a coherent series of paintings and engravings A Harlot's Progress (Eng: The life of a prostitute) by William Hogarth . In the fifth scene of the moralistic series, Dr. Richard Rock (with a dark wig) and arguing in the presence of a dying patient with Dr. Jean Misaubin (with a light wig) on ​​the medical methods, bloodletting (which Dr. Rock recommends) and cupping (which Dr. Misaubin prefers). The contrast between rock (German, thick and compact stature) and Misaubin, a thin French, was chosen deliberately. Misaubin, an equally real London quack , is easily recognized by his remarkably tall and thin appearance, but the second doctor was more difficult to identify. Therefore, in later prints, Hogarth added his name on a slip of paper on the stool in the lower right of the scene.

Hogarth also included Rock in his engraving Morning (1738), the first in a series called The Four Times of the Day , which depicts him selling his medicines in Covent Garden . Rock was known in London for selling venereal disease drugs.

Oliver Goldsmith covers rock and its physical appearance in chapter LXVIII of his 1760 work The Citizen of the World .

literature

William Hogarth and the Doctors ", National Center for Biotechnology Information (PDF 3.15 MB)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Writings and letters, edited and commented by Wolfgang Promies
  2. ↑ The list of English executions does not show a Richard Rock either in 1777 or in neighboring years.
  3. ^ Paulson: Hogarth's Graphic Works , p. 82.
  4. ↑ The patient's protection from the drug waste , information from an art dealer
  5. ^ The Times of Day , information from an art dealer