The Conversion of Polemon

Barry began work on this print in 1778, during the American Revolution and intended it as a political commentary. He represents a classical story recorded by Valerius Maxiumus that tells of Polemon, a frivilous youth who travels home at dawn after carousing and attempts to disrupt a discourse being delivered by Zenocrates on the virtues of modesty and temperance. Instead, as Polemon listens, he is converted, a change of heart indicated by the removal of the celebratory wreath from his head. The artist had dedicated earlier states of the etching to Charles James Fox, the Whig politician who was also a notorious gambler and heavy drinker, as well as a skilled orator. On February 2, 1778 he had delivered an electrifying Parliamentary speech against Britain's war with America. If Polemon refers to Fox, Barry intended the wise philosopher Zenocrates to compliment Edmund Burke. Like the artist, the latter was Irish and had been a significant patron early in Barry's career. Politically, Burke was a staunch defender of Whig principles and opposed the American War.