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Study for "Divine Justice"

ca. 1802
Not on view
This drawing reproduces figures from the center of Barry’s painting Elysium and Tartarus (1777–83), which hangs in the Great Room of the Society of Arts, London, and celebrates "those great and good men of all ages and nations, who were cultivators and benefactors of mankind." At top, patrons of the arts include Trajan, Titus, Peter the Great, Henry IV of France, Andrea Doria of Genoa, Scipio Africanus, Cosimo de’ Medici, Alexander the Great, Louis XIV, and Pope Julius II. At center, the theologians Origen, Pascal, Bossuet, Antoine Arnauld, and Bishop Butler converse with angels. Below, the sublime form of Divine Justice tilts her scales toward the abyss to suggest that evil has generally prevailed over good in history.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Study for "Divine Justice"
  • Artist: James Barry (Irish, Cork 1741–1806 London)
  • Date: ca. 1802
  • Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash over graphite
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 27 7/16 in. × 19 in. (69.7 × 48.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Charles and Jessie Price Gift, in honor of George R. Goldner, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.44
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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