Witches and wicked bodies British Museum

I went to the prints and drawing gallery at the British museum, where there was lots of different images on display, where a lot of them were about witches and demons. I enjoyed the exhibit because I like a lot of the prints, where I took photos of the one's I liked and have put them on the blog. I like the prints and drawings below because I like the creatures in them and the way there so detailed, where a lot of the prints where made in the period between the 16th and 18th century. 

The Magic Lantern  

This engraving was made by Jean Ouvrier after Johann Eleazar Schenau in between 1765-1767.

This print shows a temporary night-time booth for housing the spectacle of a witch being led away in chains. Schenau was a Saxon who moved to Paris in 1756 and produced genre scenes of French life and court portraits.   

Saul and the Witch of Endor

This etching was produced by Andrew Lawrence after Salvator Rosa in 1740 the white-clocked figure of the prophet Samuel, has been summoned by the terrifying witch of Endor, with her hair on end and surrounded by demons. The kneeling Saul learns of his impending defeat and death in battle.

The Witch

The Mezzotint produced by Richard Earlom after David Teniers in 1786 the witch with her upraised sword and stolen loot in basket and apron is Mad Med a Bruegelian hag so avaricious that she would even rob from hell. Hades is indicated here by the triple headed Cerebus at the mouth of a gloomy cave and the cowering demons. 

The Temptation of ST Anthony

This etching was created by Jacques Callot in 1635. This print is seen as the most spectacular prints of the seventeenth century. An overarching dragon in the sky vomits flying demons, over a vast warring landscape of sea, mountain and plains filled with smoke and mad military inventions. The cowering saint is hard to detect because he is surrounded by diabolic creatures.

 

The witchand the mandrake

 This soft ground etching producted by Henry Fuseli in 1812 is based on a passage from Ben Johson, s Masque of Queens The Mandrake wears a veil and looks up balefully at the bare-breasted witch with Muscular arms who is stroking it lewdly.

 

These are two different drawings I did of sections of some of the prints like the first drawing is of the witch in the 3rd print above, where I tried to draw the figure in good detail from the sword to her cloths. I choose to draw the witch because I believed it would be interesting to draw. 

 

 

This is the second drawing I did of a section from the first print of the lady and little girl again I intended to draw both figures very accurately. I choose to draw that section of the print because I want to see if I could transfer the expressions on both their faces to my drawing and see if I could draw their positions accurately.