The Comedy of Death
("La Comédie de la Mort")
Artist
Rodolphe Bresdin
(French, 1815 - 1885)
Date1854
MediumLithograph
DimensionsOverall: 14 1/2 x 11 5/16in. (36.8 x 28.7cm)
Image: 8 1/2 x 5 7/8in. (21.6 x 14.9cm)
Image: 8 1/2 x 5 7/8in. (21.6 x 14.9cm)
ClassificationsPRINTS
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Terms
Object number55.75
Description On View
Not on viewCollections
CopyrightNo known copyright restrictions.
Label TextThese prints are two of the artworks that were admired by Jean Des Essentes, the protagonist of Joris-Karl Huysmans' groundbreaking Symbolist novel, À rebours (1884). Although each is derived from different sources-one a mocking commentary on humankind's mortality and the other inspired by Jesus' famous parable-the bizarre landscapes depicted in both were inspired by 16th century Northern European painters such as Hieronymus Bosch (ca. 1450-1516) and Matthias Grünewald (ca. 1470-1528).
PDS
May 2012
