Title Page: The Causes of Decay of Christian Piety, with vignette of St. Paul's Burning, (Lex ignea)
1671 or after
Medium
Etching; post third state of three with the image of St. Paul's in flames replacing the image of the burning ship.
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 5/16 × 4 7/16 in. (18.5 × 11.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.36.115
Tags
Art Historical Context
This etching, created by the masterful Bohemian printmaker Wenceslaus Hol after 1671, serves as the title page for Richard Allestree's treatise *The Causes of Decay Christian Piety*. At its center is a dramatic vignette of St. Paul's Cathedral engulfed in flames, titled *Lex Ignea* ("Fiery Law"), symbolizing judgment or moral reckoning. Hollar, renowned for his intricate topographic views of London, captures the chaos with fine lines and meticulous detail, evoking the city's vulnerability. The print's historical significance lies in its post-third state revision: an earlier version featured a...
About the Artist
Wenceslaus Hollar|Richard Allestree · 1607–1677
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677) was a prolific Bohemian etcher who became one of the most accomplished printmakers of the seventeenth century. Born in Prague, he trained under Matthäus Merian in Frankfurt before entering the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in 1636. Hollar spent most of his career in England, where he produced approximately 2,740 etchings documenting an extraordinary range...