Art Institute of Chicago
Cruelty in Perfection
John Bell (English, 1721–1780)
- Date
- 1750
- Medium
- Woodcut with letterpress in black on ivory laid paper
- Culture
- England
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
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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- Object type
- AAT300041273
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