Elysium & Tartarus, or The State of Final Retribution

James Barry

first published 1792; this state 1808 · Etching and engraving; sixth state of six · Drawings and Prints

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.

Artist

James Barry

Date

first published 1792; this state 1808

Medium

Etching and engraving; sixth state of six

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Mary Oenslager Fund, 2018