Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Tristram Shandy

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, as illustrated by George Cruikshank

This is a set of images done by the noted illustrator George Cruikshank for one of the works that helped define the modern novel, Tristram Shandy, or The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, to give the full name.

This novel purportedly tells the autobiographical life history of the titular Tristram Shandy. Unfortunately, he's prone to diversions, and isn't born until half-way through the book or so.

Let me put up the images here.

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  Plate I: The Effects of Trim's Eloquence
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  Plate II: Obadiah leading in Dr. Slop
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  Plate III: The Jack-boots transformed into Mortars
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  Plate IV: The long-nosed Stranger of Strasburg
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  Plate V: My Uncle Toby on his Hobby-horse
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  Plate VI: Trim's relation of Tristram's misfortune
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  Plate VII: The Quarrel of Slop and Susannah
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  Plate VIII: The Smoking Batteries (Already an FP, listed for completeness)

The set shows some interesting aspects of George Cruikshank's art. A lot of these happen in the same room, and Cruikshank does a rather good job of giving a coherent sense of place. For instance, compare plates II, III and VI.

All you really need to know about this book is that it's something like a 1950's sitcom, only set in the 18th century. Something like I Love Lucy if there was more men in the cast, fewer women, and no censorship.

I'll just cover a few of the plates: Plate I introduces the servant Trim, whose eloquence is such as to awe all listeners. Plate III is one of the sitcom-like situations: Trim has used a pair of old boots to hold plaster while he was doing some repairs. But they turn out to have been old heirlooms. You've got some splainin' to do, Trim! Plate IV is about Walter (Tristram's father)'s favourite book, a bizarre little book about how important noses are. As I recall (I don't have the book to hand), everyone is so interested in the funny nose of the stranger that they follow him out of the city, and while they do, the Germans slip in and take it over. Plate V is about Uncle Toby, an old soldier, now crippled, falling into discussion of the military with Trim, and his enthusiasm for the military takes hold, and pulls Trim in so much that they begin acting things out with props at hand. In Plate VII, Dr. Slop is trying to make medicine for baby Tristram, gets in a quarrel with the maid Susannah, and they end up having a medicine fight. Poor baby Tristram! Plate VIII is about cannons powered by hookahs, we discussed this last FP.

Possible downsides is that these are not contemporaneous - Cruikshank was born 24 years after Sterne's death. Cruikshank's images do imitate the aesthetics of the 18th century - compare File:Vauxhall - Dr. Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, Mary Robinson, et al.jpg, for instance.

What more to say? I think that, for what they are, they're pretty good. Let me know if you spot any problems. I had honestly thought I had already nominated these, but am on the laptop just now, so it's a little impractical to get a full check in.

Reason

See above.

Articles this image appears in

George Cruikshank, Tristram Shandy

Creator

George Cruikshank

• Support as nominator --Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 213 FCs served} 08:43, 13 October 2009 (UTC)
• Comment: There seem to be tone discrepencies- this is most obvious in IV, which seems much yellower/browner than the others. If presented as a set, consistency would be good. J Milburn (talk) 11:58, 13 October 2009 (UTC)
  • That's true of them in the original book, though. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 213 FCs served} 18:02, 13 October 2009 (UTC)
    • I doubt that was true originally, and is the point of restoration not to make things look as they did originally? J Milburn (talk) 22:35, 13 October 2009 (UTC)
    • That depends on the aesthetic you're going for. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 213 FCs served} 02:08, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
      • Why were these restored then? J Milburn (talk) 22:56, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
• Comment These are great, but there's no way we should promote them as a set without properly grouping them. You need to select a key image for the FP category page, PoD, etc and place the thumbnails of all member image on the description pages of each member so people can browse them as a set without navigating the labyrinthian FP archives. Oppose until that's done. --mikaul^talk 21:53, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
  • Sorry, should have added that this opposition is further to a discussion raised on the talk page. --mikaul^talk 22:31, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
    • Have you actually looked at the pages for these images? That's been done for months. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 213 FCs served} 02:35, 15 October 2009 (UTC)
      • Of course not, why on earth would I say that if I had :-? I'm not clear as to which the "key" image is and I'm keen to support, but I'd like to see the issues J Milburn raised addressed first. I guess the existing FP will be the main image, right?mikaul^talk 06:20, 15 October 2009 (UTC)
• Support. High Encyclopedic value in both the articles they are used in, attractive and clear. Mostlyharmless (talk) 21:51, 15 October 2009 (UTC)
• Weak support. Supporting per ev and artwork, weakly per tonal differences. Would change to full support with better tonal consistency. Durova³²⁷ 06:02, 18 October 2009 (UTC)
• Request suspension for revision. The suggested edits are not at all trivial, unless you want images on a plain white background. For realistic paper tone, where the paper tone differs wildly in the original, this is a ridiculous amount of work. Shoemaker's Holiday ^{Over 213 FCs served} 07:11, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

Suspended per request of Shoemaker's Holiday. Makeemlighter (talk) 01:23, 19 October 2009 (UTC)

• Requested an update from SH here. Makeemlighter (talk) 03:16, 5 November 2009 (UTC)
  • User has not been on line since November 2nd. Perhaps the recent conflict with a certain other serial FP contributor has chased him away? Nezzadar ^[SPEAK] 15:39, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Not promoted --Makeemlighter (talk) 00:38, 1 December 2009 (UTC)