Evil Spirits Cast Out, an illustration to Arcana Coelestia, No. 1272, by Emanuel Swedenborg (1749)

Evil Spirits Cast Out, an illustration to Arcana Coelestia, No. 1272, by Emanuel Swedenborg (1749)

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John Flaxman

This drawing is one of only two watercolors known by the neoclassical sculptor and designer. It illustrates a passage in Swedenborg’s theological study of Genesis and Exodus in which he discusses deceitful spirits who “supposed that they had all power to do what they pleased, and that they could take away life from everyone: but to expose the vanity of this imagination, they were thrust down again to their infernal abodes by a little child, at whose presence they began so to totter and tremble that they could not help expressing their anguish by cries.” Flaxman’s study of ancient sculpture as the embodiment of the classical ideal of human form is evident in his rendering of the muscular figures of the demons.
Artist
John Flaxman
(English, 1755 - 1826)
Title
Evil Spirits Cast Out, an illustration to Arcana Coelestia, No. 1272, by Emanuel Swedenborg (1749)
Date
n.d.
Medium
Graphite and wash
Dimensions
8 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. Image
Credit
Edward Blake Blair Endowment Fund purchase
Accession No.
1999.68
Classification
Drawings & Watercolors
Geography
England

Related

  • Haggerty Museum of Art. "The World Turned Upside Down: Apocalyptic Imagery in England, 1750-1850." Milwaukee: Haggerty Museum of Art, 2017. p. 48
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Bulletin/Biennial Report 1997-1999." Madison, WI: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 2000 p. 62

  • The World Turned Upside Down: Apocolyptic Imagery in England: Haggerty Museum of Art, 10/5/2017–1/18/2018
  • Golden Age of British Watercolors 1790-1910, The: Chazen Museum of Art, 9/22/2012–12/2/2012
  • Drawing with a Brush: British Watercolors: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/10/2007–1/6/2008
  • Old Master Drawings from the Permanent Collection: Chazen Museum of Art, 7/23/2005–10/9/2005

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