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The Angelic Guards

1808
Not on view
Four angelic beings, reminiscent of similar figures by Michelangelo and Raphael, protect the heavenly realm of Elysium from Tartarus: the dark, ill-defined abyssal zone at right. The largest figure guards a key, while others lean over the edge with spears as a cloaked Gabriel broods with a flaming cross on his forehead. At upper right we are shown historical patrons of the arts—Charles I, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Cassiodorus, Francis I, and Agrippa—and above them artists who benefited from enlightened support, including Joshua Reynolds, Giles Hussey, Annibale Carracci, and Domenichino. The etching reproduces central figures in Barry’s enormous painting Elysium and Tartarus (1777–83; Society of Arts, London) and was created as a pendant to Divine Justice (see 2016.595).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Angelic Guards
  • Artist: James Barry (Irish, Cork 1741–1806 London)
  • Date: 1808
  • Medium: Etching and engraving; fourth state of four
  • Dimensions: Plate: 29 1/8 × 19 11/16 in. (74 × 50 cm)
    Sheet: 30 7/16 × 20 3/8 in. (77.3 × 51.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: A. Hyatt Mayor Purchase Fund, Marjorie Phelps Starr Bequest, 2016
  • Object Number: 2016.596
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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