Sin Pursued by Death (John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 2, 787, 790-792)
Not on view
Fuseli’s early training in theology and admiration for English literature found fertile expression in a series of works inspired by Paradise Lost, made after he settled in London. In a horrific scene of infernal incest described in Book II (630–814), Death grasps at his mother, Sin; their union leads to the birth of the hounds of hell. The print, based on a painting made between 1794 and 1796, was executed by two engravers; Haughton used stipple and aquatint for the figures, while Lewis combined several intaglio processes to produce the innovative smoky effects in the background. Barry’s earlier treatment of the subject (on view nearby) may have influenced Fuseli.
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