Helluones librorum (Bookworms)
November 10, 1786
Medium
Aquatint printed in brown ink
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed within plate): 11 x 14 5/16 in. (28 x 36.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1966
Accession Number
66.544.58
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Helluones Librorum (Bookworms)**, created in 1786 by a collaborative team of British artists—Joshua Kirby Baldrey, Francis Jukes, Robert Chilton, and Samuel Vince—captures the whimsical world of avid scholars. Printed as an aquatint in warm brown ink, this intimate scene (11 x 14 5/16 inches) depicts men immersed in books at cluttered desks, surrounded by chairs, cats, and the cozy trappings of an interior study. The Latin title playfully translates to "bookworms," evoking the era's fascination with knowledge during the Enlightenment, when libraries symbolized intellectual pursuit—and perhap...
About the Artist
Joshua Kirby Baldrey|Francis Jukes|Robert Chilton|Samuel Vince (British|British|British|British) · 1754 |1747 |1700 |1749 –1828 |1812 |1800 |1821
British, Ipswich? 1754–1828 Hatfield Woodside, Hertfordshire|British, Hertfordshire 1747–1812 London|British, 18th century|British, 1749–1821