Inquisition, Slander & Calumny, Pl. 89 — Nouvelle Iconologie Historique

A monumental ensemble pairing the Inquisition with personifications of Slander and Calumny — instruments of judgement bristling with sinister attributes.

Original title: Inquisition. Médisance et Calomnie. Plate 89. Designed and engraved by Jean-Charles Delafosse. From Nouvelle Iconologie Historique ou Attributs Hieroglyphiques. Published in Paris by Jean-François Daumont, c. 1768–1773.

Delafosse's allegories of vice belong to the philosophes' broader Enlightenment campaign against ecclesiastical and judicial abuse. The Inquisition plate, in particular, takes its place beside texts by Voltaire and Diderot in the print culture's running indictment of religious intolerance.

Hand-coloured copperplate engraving. Sheet approximately 46.8 × 33.8 cm. Excellent.