Doctor Syntax Sketching the Lake

Dr. Syntax sits on his horse at the center of the engraving, holding an open sketchbook and pen; an open umbrella appears to be tucked under his arm. A local fisherman and his dog stand behind him; before Syntax, on the water, a man rows three tourists in a boat, two of them women. Dark clouds roll in the sky above the tourists, presenting a stark contrast to the gentle sunset taking place beyond the distant mountains. The left third of the engraving is significantly darker due to the rapidly-approaching storm. Interestingly, Syntax sketches with his right hand in this engraving, while he uses his left in Dr. Syntax Tumbling into the Water. Doctor Syntax Sketching the Lake was first published in the inaugural issue of Poetical Magazine (1809), along with the rest of Combe’s poem, under the title "The Schoolmaster’s Tour." It was later bound in book form (May, 1812).

Doctor Syntax Sketching the Lake demonstrates the narrow-minded and obsessive folly of the seeker of the picturesque. Doctor Syntax, as well as the tourists in the boat beyond him, ignore the advice of locals regarding the coming storm, hoping "that we the picturesque may find / In thunder loud or whistling wind" (Combe 111). Caricature was a cheap form of entertainment during the early nineteenth century, and served to report on daily news and happenings as well as to provide entertainment by poking fun at fads and figures of the day.

In this caricature, Rowlandson again takes aim at the oblivious picturesque tourist. Rather than seeking shelter from the rain as the fisherman advises him, Syntax stubbornly awaits the storm, replying that he hopes “we the picturesque may find / In thunder loud or whistling wind” (Combe 111). Syntax's obstinacy will cause trouble for him as he attempts to navigate his horse through the mud, but the Doctor is so obsessed with finding picturesque views that he refuses to consider practical difficulties. In a manner similar to Dr. Syntax, the tourists on the boat seem relatively unconcerned about the storm clouds whirling above them. This theme of the absurdly eager tourist is subtly drawn out in the details of the piece, such as the uneasy facial expression of the boatman and the look of puzzlement on the fisherman’s face, dumbfounded by Syntax’s stubbornness. As an extension of Syntax, Syntax’s horse munches absentmindedly on grass, while another animal, the fisherman’s dog (presumably native to the area) looks anxiously at its owner, wary of the rain and wind to come. Maintaining his obstinate role as a devotee of the picturesque, however, Doctor Syntax proclaims in the poem that “the first, the middle, and the last / In picturesque is bold contrast" (Combe 117); this, along with his aforementioned comments regarding the storm as a potential source of the picturesque, inform us of common perceptions regarding this key tenet of Romantic visual culture. Finally, Rowlandson may have included the perplexed fisherman as a nod to the inhabitants of the Lake District, who were becoming increasingly perturbed with the flood of tourists to their neighborhoods (Andrews, In Search of the Picturesque 153).

Picturesque tourism as an industry was largely popularized by the publication of Gilpin’s Observations on the River Wye in 1782. Tourists of the "picturesque" traveled to Scotland, North and South Wales, the Wye Valley, and the Lake District (in northwest England) in search of scenery manifesting this ideal. Oftentimes, tourists brought watercolors to quickly paint or sketch the scenes that most captivated them, in the fashion of Gilpin. These tourists, and their dogged pursuit of the picturesque, would later be lampooned by caricaturists in the early years of the 1800s, but picturesque tourism maintained significant popularity until the mid-nineteenth century.

Starting in the 1770s, the Lake District of England quickly became a favorite haunt of tourists in search of the picturesque; at its height, the tour of the Lake District rivaled the Grand Tour of continental Europe in popularity (Andrews, In Search of the Picturesque 153). The District, which featured forests, rugged hills and mountains, cascading waterfalls, and pastoral country dwellers, fulfilled the requirements of the picturesque in the most obvious ways, but the sensory bombardment did not stop at sight. Unlike the Wye Tour and several other picturesque tours, tours of the Lakes often featured the din of cannons, providing an auditory experience of the sublime for tourists. Eventually, those who lived in the Lake District became frustrated and exasperated at the noise, as well as the idiosyncrasies of the picturesque tourists who came in ever-greater numbers (Andrews, In Search of the Picturesque 153). Gilpin’s account of the picturesque qualities of the region can be found in his Observations on several parts of England: particularly, the mountains and lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland, relative chiefly to picturesque beauty, made in the year 1772.