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About The Rich Man Being Led To Hell
John Boydell, 1786. Proof before letters. Mezzotint. Not in Wessely. Sheet size: 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, which is far from unsympathetic. David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690) was the last of the great Flemish masters. The son of a painter, he was married to Pieter Bruegel's granddaughter, and clearly was influenced by the great Flemish master. Like Bruegel, his work was enriched by the study of demonic creatures in Hieronymous Bosch (d. 1516). Interestingly, Teniers did a mate to this painting which shows Mad Meg (a Flemish folk figure) marching out of Hell with a sword in one hand and a basket of loot in the other, a striking and humorous contrast to the poor "rich" man. Richard Earlom (1743 - 1822) was one of the best mezzotint engravers in England. His reputation rests primarily on the renditions of Old Master paintings, like this one, that he did for the Boydells. His mastery of tone and light has never been exceeded and is beautifully exemplified in this proof pull.Earlom has altered Teniers original, adding Cerberus on the left (mixing mythologies in effect) and intensifying the demonic hilarity.
