Satire depicting the The Quintuple Alliance (Tsar Alexander I of Russia, Napoleon Bonaparte, Francis I, Emperor of Austria, Louis Antoine de Bourbon, duc d’Angoulême and the Duke of Wellington) debating the question of the Spanish succession and French intervention in Spain at the 1822 Congress of Verona. Losers in the negotiation are depicted as tiny doll-like figures trampled under the table. Masks are scattered on the floor and animal symbolism includes a bear, a monkey and a pair of bulldogs.
- Printmaker: Purcell, E. (Edward), printmaker.
- Title: The Holy Alliance unmasked [graphic] / E. Purcell.
- Publication: [London] : Published Feb. 1823 by J. Dickinson, 114 New Bond St., [February 1823]
823.02.00.01+
Acquired April 2023
A copy in reverse of William Hogarth’s Plate 2 of A harlot’s progress: Mary Hackabout (left), now a harlot and mistress of a wealthy London Jew, exposes her breast and kicks over a tea table to divert his attention from the presence of her younger lover who hides behind the door of the room with her maid servant. A monkey and young black servant boy in a feathered turban look on the scene with frighten expressions. The mask and mirror in the lower left corner and the paintings of scenes from the Old Testament (Jonah IV.8 and 2 Samuel VI.1-5) hanging on the wall further amplify the artist’s moral message.