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Medusa. Stipple engraving by J.K. Sherwin, 1789.

The two references to the Jesuits may provide the key to the print. The Jesuit order was repressed in France in 1764. The gravestone from which the skeleton emerges says 'Here lies the Society of Jesus 17..' which may indicate the contemporaneity of the events surrounding the suppression of the Jesuits
A bearded god holds a pump to the dying man's head, to which the latter is holding his left hand; the names detailed below spume out of a funnel on the pump. A Medusa figure in a red skirt lunges at the dying man with a fork-tongued serpent and a dagger. Mercury stands behind her on a pedestal with the caduceus in his left hand. A skeleton in a blue priestly vestment blows out of a hole in the bottom left-hand corner and points at the man; behind him lurk a scythe and hourglass. Between the skeleton and the Medusa, a woman with a drum lies on the floor. Behind the bed a figure with "l'Academie" written above its blank face holds the hand of a blindfolded god who lifts a wreath above the dying man's head. One of the three gods pictured in the top right-hand corner holds a large leaf in the manner of a pen and in the other hand a mirror. In the bottom right-hand corner a harlequin with a puppet modelled upon himself turns the tap affixed to the head of a large, forlorn centaur which drips into the vase marked "Gouttes d'Hoffman"

1 print : etching, with watercolour ; image 30.4 x 40.8 cm

A dying man surrounded by fantastic and mythological figures. Coloured etching.

Astrology: signs of the zodiac, Perseus with Medusa's head. Coloured engraving.

Perseus with the head of Medusa turning into stone Polydectes and his army. Engraving by C. Alberti after Polidoro da Caravaggio, 1525.

The fainting Britannia is fortified by "doctors and ministers" represented by Charles Jenkinson (Baron Hawkesbury, subsequently Earl of Liverpool) and Henry Addington (subsequently Viscount Sidmouth): Jenkinson wears a fur-lined robe, while Addington, as a doctor in the robes of the Royal College of Physicians, holds smelling salts ("Gunpowder") to her nose. Sheridan, as a quack doctor's assistant ("Sherry Andrew", play on "Merry Andrew"), holds a club and a shield in the form of the head of the Medusa against Napoleon and a French invasion force crossing the English Channel. Fox is shown behind them. The characters speak as if playing roles in a Shakespearian tragedy

1 print : etching, with watercolour ; platemark 26.1 x 36.3 cm

A fearful woman (Britannia) is encouraged by three British politicians to resist the invading fleet of France. Coloured etching by J. Gillray after J. Sneyd, 1803.

Pegasus arises from the severed neck of the Gorgon Medusa. Perseus rides on Pegasus towards Andromeda

Left, Perseus cuts off the head of Medusa; right, Perseus rescues Andromeda. Etching by T. Cook, 1808, after W. Hogarth.

Les passions de l'homme exprimées par les satyres

Medusa presiding over groups of satyrs who are gambling; representing gambling or gaming as a passion. Etching by J. Audran after C. Gillot.

1 print : lithograph ; sheet 109 x 80.2 cm

Tuberculosis: the head of the Medusa representing the disease, and advertising an exhibition against tuberculosis in Basel. Lithograph after Robert Strüdel, 1913.

Ovid, Metamorphoses IV:753-803. Perseus looks into the mirror in order to avoid being turned into stone by the direct sight of Medusa's head. Athena, flying in from above, provides the polished shield, right.

1 print : etching ; platemark 25.8 x 19.5 cm

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Medusa. Stipple engraving by J.K. Sherwin, 1789.

A dying man surrounded by fantastic and mythological figures. Coloured etching.

Astrology: signs of the zodiac, Perseus with Medusa's head. Coloured engraving.

Perseus with the head of Medusa turning into stone Polydectes and his army. Engraving by C. Alberti after Polidoro da Caravaggio, 1525.

A fearful woman (Britannia) is encouraged by three British politicians to resist the invading fleet of France. Coloured etching by J. Gillray after J. Sneyd, 1803.

Left, Perseus cuts off the head of Medusa; right, Perseus rescues Andromeda. Etching by T. Cook, 1808, after W. Hogarth.

Medusa presiding over groups of satyrs who are gambling; representing gambling or gaming as a passion. Etching by J. Audran after C. Gillot.

Tuberculosis: the head of the Medusa representing the disease, and advertising an exhibition against tuberculosis in Basel. Lithograph after Robert Strüdel, 1913.

Perseus about to cut off the head of Medusa while looking at it in the reflection of his shield. Etching after A. van Diepenbeeck.

Perseus turning the followers of Phineus to stone with the head of Medusa. Etching by P. Aquila after Annibale Carracci.

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Medusa. Stipple engraving by J.K. Sherwin, 1789.

A dying man surrounded by fantastic and mythological figures. Coloured etching.

Astrology: signs of the zodiac, Perseus with Medusa's head. Coloured engraving.

Perseus with the head of Medusa turning into stone Polydectes and his army. Engraving by C. Alberti after Polidoro da Caravaggio, 1525.

A fearful woman (Britannia) is encouraged by three British politicians to resist the invading fleet of France. Coloured etching by J. Gillray after J. Sneyd, 1803.

Left, Perseus cuts off the head of Medusa; right, Perseus rescues Andromeda. Etching by T. Cook, 1808, after W. Hogarth.

Medusa presiding over groups of satyrs who are gambling; representing gambling or gaming as a passion. Etching by J. Audran after C. Gillot.

Tuberculosis: the head of the Medusa representing the disease, and advertising an exhibition against tuberculosis in Basel. Lithograph after Robert Strüdel, 1913.

Perseus about to cut off the head of Medusa while looking at it in the reflection of his shield. Etching after A. van Diepenbeeck.

Perseus turning the followers of Phineus to stone with the head of Medusa. Etching by P. Aquila after Annibale Carracci.

Stay in the know

Wellcome collectionWellcome Collection

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Wellcome collection