Elysium & Tartarus, or The State of Final Retribution

first published 1792; this state 1808

Not on view

This etching reproduces a forty-foot-long mural Barry painted for the Great Room of the Society of Arts in London between 1777 and 1783. As the culmination of a series dedicated to the rise of culture and civilization from ancient to recent times, the image honors "great and good" figures across history, shown gathered here in a heavenly Elysium. At center, the angels Raphael and Gabriel guard the blessed from the darkness of Tartarus, at right, where unidentified forms writhe in torment. The print necessarily condenses and reduces the original to ensure that the faces remain readable. Barry etched and published the plate in 1791–92; his sister issued this state shortly after the artist’s death.

Artwork Details

Title: Elysium & Tartarus, or The State of Final Retribution
Artist: James Barry (Irish, Cork 1741–1806 London)
Date: first published 1792; this state 1808
Medium: Etching and engraving; sixth state of six
Dimensions: Plate: 16 5/16 × 36 1/4 in. (41.5 × 92 cm)
Sheet: 26 7/8 × 39 3/16 in. (68.2 × 99.5 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Mary Oenslager Fund, 2018
Object Number: 2018.353
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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