The Rich Man Being Led To Hell

Book Description

John Boydell, 1786. Proof before letters. Mezzotint, after David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690). Not in Wessely.. 20 1/8 x 28 1/2". The painting by Teniers the Younger had been acquired by Sir Robert Peel in 1784 and brought to England. It is now in the National Gallery, London. The composition illustrates, in a very imaginative way, a parable related in the Gospel of Luke: a rich man, dying, sees a beggar named Lazarus ascending to Heaven as he is dragged toward Hell. In this image we don't see Lazarus, but there is a very memorable representation of the rich man. David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) was the last of the great Flemish masters. He was very well known during his lifetime and is still highly regarded for his technical capabilites but, rightly, overshadowed by more innovative contemporaries, most notably of course Rembrandt. Here he borrowed from the Hieronymus Bosch (d. 1516) and Pieter Brueghel (1525- 1569) tradition of Hell as inhabited by ingeniously malformed demons, who delight in new victims. But in contrast to the Bosch-Brueghel precedent of panoramic views with multiple examples, Teniers gives us one and manages to create a more moving image by depicting a not unsympathetic rich man who doesn't display any exaggerated emotions in the face of all the clamor. It is a little morality play for all of us, who for the moment, stand outside the gates of Hell. Richard Earlom (1743 - 1822) was one of the best mezzotint engravers in England. His reputation rests primarily on renditions of Old Master paintings, like this one, which is an excellent example of his mastery of tone and light.

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