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The poet, philosopher, and playwright François-Marie Arouet, known universally as Voltaire, was one of the most controversial figures of the 18th century. He was both revered as a thinker and despised as a threat to traditional religious values. Here, he arrives in the underworld to join a witches’ convention, where he is welcomed by a menagerie of strange beings. We do not know if this image was meant as a condemnation of Voltaire or a mockery of his critics.
Requires Photography
Voltaire Arriving in Hell
Circle Of: Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (French, 1724–1780)
about 1780
Medium/Technique
Etching
Dimensions
Platemark: 15.6 × 18.9 cm (6 1/8 × 7 7/16 in.)
Sheet: 16.2 × 19.5 cm (6 3/8 × 7 11/16 in.)
Sheet: 16.2 × 19.5 cm (6 3/8 × 7 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Thomas E. Rassieur Fund
Accession Number2018.9
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsPrints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
The poet, philosopher, and playwright François-Marie Arouet, known universally as Voltaire, was one of the most controversial figures of the 18th century. He was both revered as a thinker and despised as a threat to traditional religious values. Here, he arrives in the underworld to join a witches’ convention, where he is welcomed by a menagerie of strange beings. We do not know if this image was meant as a condemnation of Voltaire or a mockery of his critics.
Catalogue Raisonné
Gustave Desnoiresterres, Essai d'iconographie voltairienne, 1879, p. 92
Provenance2017, sold by a private collector, England, to Nicolaas Teeuwisse OHG, Berlin; 2018, sold by Nicolaas Teeuwisse OHG to the MFA. (Accession Date: February 21, 2018)