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The upper etching shows a chemist's laboratory with three kilns operated by various chemists, burning and destroying objects and equipment. The central kiln (1) representing the hegemony of Europe is under attack from warlike virtues. On the roof, a Swiss guard, representing an unwarlike country; behind him, an Italian with a stiletto, and to the left a medallion of the fall of Phaeton, with the motto "Excidit ausis" (he falls from his dares) . On the ground, a cracked and fallen sun inscribed "Ryk van geweld" (reign of violence). On the right, the Pope (A.) is talking to a cardinal (B.) In the right background, the landing of the fleet at a "western port" (11)
At the bottom, three smaller scenes: left, the revenge of a nocturnal ghost on those who do not respect passports (no. 14); centre, the devil in a dream confronting a cardinal who disturbs Europe's peace (no. 15); right, the ghost of King Charles II of Spain troubling his successors by his will (no. 16)

1 print : etching, with letterpress ; platemark 25.2 x 35.7 cm

European governments in 1705-1706 represented as a chemical laboratory which is assailed by warring monarchs; representing the War of the Spanish Succession. Etching after R. de Hooghe, 1706.

The banker weighing coin on the right is identified by Muller and others as Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, subsequently (from 1720) King Victor Amadeus I of Sardinia. The Rijksmuseum online catalogue (accessed 17 September 2014) by contrast identifies him as Louis XIV of France. Muller identifies the masked figure on the left as King Louis XIV: he holds a key surmounted by the fleur de lys, and has similar emblems, possibly also meant to be the fleur de lys, on his trousers. In the background, the gateway to a fortified city labelled "Milano". The 1702 version suggests that Louis XIV is holding the key to bullion chests believed to have been lost to the French at the battle of Vigo Bay on 23 October 1702
The side of the banker's desk contains coins representing the Grand Alliance (Austria, England, the Dutch Republic, the Palatinate etc.), the Holy Roman Emperor, Spain, the Duke of Marlborough, and Eugene of Savoy. Below them, France is represented as a sinking sun. On his desk is a cabinet with drawers labeled "Fijn en vals goud" (fine and false gold), "Fijne en valse juweelen" (fine and false jewels), and "Muntbriefjes" (currency notes)

1 print : etching, with engraving ; platemark 28.3 x 17.8 cm

In Milan, King Louis XIV as a locksmith, key in hand, approaches Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy, as a banker weighing coin. Etching attributed to C. Allard, 1706.

Related to a plate of the same composition in reverse with variations published as the frontispiece to Gilles Ménage, Vita M. Gargilii Mamurrae parasitopaedagogi, scriptore Marco Licinio, Paris 1643, a satire by Gilles Ménage against Pierre de Montmaur, professor of Greek at the Collège de France. That version lacks the two windows in the background of the present print, is narrower in format, is more precisely engraved, has lettering in ancient Greek, and has other differences. The present print seems to be a more popular version

Pierre de Montmaur as "Doctor Saucepan" stands in a saucepan and lectures to kitchen hands. Engraving by F. Chauveau.

A set of photomontage prints, published by the Greater London Council in 1985, satirising the British Government's civil defence publication 'Protect and survive' (London 1980). The prints contain quotations from 'Protect and survive' which are contrasted with quotations from other, less optimistic, publications, such as O. Greene et al., London after the bomb (Oxford, 1982, which printed some findings of the government's own exercise Operation Square Leg); a report on the likely consequences of a nuclear strike by the Royal College of Nursing; the BMA's report 'The medical effects of nuclear war' (Chichester, 1983); accounts of the Hiroshima bomb, etc. For example, 'Inferno' (no. 11) sets advice from 'Protect and survive', "If you have a home fire extinguisher – keep it handy" against a quotation from 'London after the bomb': "Individual fires may join together to form one huge fire – a fire storm or a conflagration. In a fire-storm, such as those experienced in Dresden, Hamburg, and Hiroshima in the Second World War, hurricane force winds are sucked in by the fire. Temperatures of 1,000C or more can be reached, sufficient to melt glass and some metals. People are incinerated or suffocated. In a conflagration the fires spread outwards until there is nothing left to burn, killing those trapped in houses or too badly injured to escape"

18 prints : lithographs, printed in black and white and colours ; sheets 42 x 29.6 cm and (nos. 3, 4, 5, 10, 14, 15) 29.6 x 42 cm

The effects of a nuclear bomb attack on London. Lithographs after Peter Kennard and Peter Gladwin, 1985.

Based on the sculpture yard of Henry Cheere (1709-1787) at Hyde Park Corner, London. Around the central images are diagrams relating to Hogarth's aesthetic treatise, The analysis of beauty, London, 1753. Hogarth conflated all the visual illustrations to his argument into two large plates (the other one being Wellcome Library no. 38384i). Coiled around a cone is a serpentine line which was fundamental to Hogarth's ideal. The simple S line is revealed to exist throughout art but deriving ultimately fron nature. The beauty of a curved line is contrasted with the stiffness of a wooden leg. The straightbacked dancing master is awkwardly posed next to the contrapposto of the statue of Antinous. Among the statues in the yard are the Laocoön, the Apollo Belvedere and the Farnese Hercules. In the left foreground, a large placard contains images of three flayed legs - the central design copied from William Cowper (1660-1709), while on the right a man holds open a book with illustrations derived from theories of proportion proposed by Albrecht Dürer

1 print : engraving, with etching ; image 36.5 x 48.5 cm.

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European governments in 1705-1706 represented as a chemical laboratory which is assailed by warring monarchs; representing the War of the Spanish Succession. Etching after R. de Hooghe, 1706.

In Milan, King Louis XIV as a locksmith, key in hand, approaches Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy, as a banker weighing coin. Etching attributed to C. Allard, 1706.

Pierre de Montmaur as "Doctor Saucepan" stands in a saucepan and lectures to kitchen hands. Engraving by F. Chauveau.

The effects of a nuclear bomb attack on London. Lithographs after Peter Kennard and Peter Gladwin, 1985.

A sculpture yard filled with copies of Greek and Roman sculptures, together with contemporary people and objects. Engraving by William Hogarth, 1753.

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European governments in 1705-1706 represented as a chemical laboratory which is assailed by warring monarchs; representing the War of the Spanish Succession. Etching after R. de Hooghe, 1706.

In Milan, King Louis XIV as a locksmith, key in hand, approaches Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy, as a banker weighing coin. Etching attributed to C. Allard, 1706.

Pierre de Montmaur as "Doctor Saucepan" stands in a saucepan and lectures to kitchen hands. Engraving by F. Chauveau.

The effects of a nuclear bomb attack on London. Lithographs after Peter Kennard and Peter Gladwin, 1985.

A sculpture yard filled with copies of Greek and Roman sculptures, together with contemporary people and objects. Engraving by William Hogarth, 1753.

Stay in the know

Wellcome collectionWellcome Collection

Finding us:

Opening times:

Today's opening times

Wellcome collection