The Prophet of the Hebrews, the Prince of Peace, conducting the Jews to the Promised Land, 5 March 1795
Scope and Contents
Artist: James Gillray. Published: Hannah Humphrey. Richard Brothers, dressed as a sansculotte and with the face of a maniac, carries on his back a 'Bundle of the Elect' from which protrude the heads and legs of Fox, Sheridan, Stanhope (in profile to the right), and Lansdowne (in profile to the left). In his left hand is an open book: 'Revelation', and a sword of flame, his right hand points up an ascending path to the 'Gate of Jerusalem' (right); this is a gallows from which hang three nooses; behind it are flames in which demons are flying. He tramples on a seven-headed monster (the Beast of 'Revelation'): on one head, that of the Pope, he puts his foot, another prostrate human head wears a crown and so does the head of a beast breathing fire. The other four heads are those of demons. Two beams of light slant from his forehead, 'Assignats' project from his coat-pocket. Behind walk Jews, the most prominent a pedlar with an open box of trinkets. Beside them walks a fat, disreputable woman holding a bottle inscribed 'Everlasting Life' and a glass. From her pocket hangs a ballad: 'Isabell Wake a new Song to the tune of a Two penny Loaf'. In the foreground (right) St. Paul's, the Monument, a spire and houses are being engulfed in a fiery pit and are breaking to pieces (according to Brothers' prophecy). On the horizon (right) is the sea with the masts of wrecked ships projecting from the waves. Immediately above Brothers is an owl with an olive-branch in its beak, a halo poised whirlpool-like on a point above its head; it clutches a paper inscribed 'Peace'. On the right is the sun, its disk containing a staring face, wearing a bonnet-rouge, and surrounded by the points of a star which drip blood. On the left is a crescent moon in which is a fissure, its arc borders a shaded disk; round this grotesque demons dance in a ring, holding hands. Description from the British Museum.
Dates
- Creation: 5 March 1795
Conditions Governing Access
Available by appointment in our Reading Room
Extent
1 Item(s)
Language of Materials
English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and Archives Repository
Western Bank Library
University of Sheffield
Western Bank
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