John Bell (English, 1721–1780)
after William Hogarth (English, 1697-1764)
Cruelty in Perfection
INV-2273
John Bell (English, 1721–1780)
after William Hogarth (English, 1697-1764)1750
Cruelty in Perfection
John Bell (English, 1721–1780) after William Hogarth (English, 1697-1764) →woodcutprint
Date
1750
Medium
Woodcut with letterpress in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/block: 45.2 × 38.2 cm (17 13/16 × 15 1/16 in.); Sheet: 51.6 × 41.5 cm (20 3/8 × 16 3/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
William McCallin McKee Memorial and Robert M. Chase Endowment funds
Hogarth frequently used an episodic format to depict an unsavory character’s descent into debauchery, and the four-print series Four Stages of Cruelty features the artist’s most sadistic villain, Tom Nero. After impregnating a lady’s maid and convincing her to steal from her mistress and run away with him, he murders her. In John Bell’s large-scale woodcut after Hogarth, Nero is apprehended as the dead body of his lover is discovered.
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