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Find Paul at left with his arm raised as he speaks, then Felix enthroned under the canopy, and the Roman eagle and banner at right.
William Hogarth built his fame on satire, but around 1747 he completed a group of serious history paintings. This red chalk drawing was probably made after one of them as a study for an engraving. The painting shows the apostle Paul defending himself before Felix, and it was made for Lincoln’s Inn in London, where lawyers were admitted to practice.
Various red chalks on cream laid paper · 39.5 × 51.5 cm · Art Institute of Chicago · Rococo
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Details and source
- Museum title
- Paul Before Felix
- Artist
- William Hogarth English, 1697–1764
- Date
- c. 1751
- Medium
- Various red chalks on cream laid paper
- Dimensions
- 39.5 × 51.5 cm (15 9/16 × 20 5/16 in.)
- Credit line
- Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection in memory of Lt. Col. Charles Albert Appel
- Image license
- CC0 1.0 · Public domain
- Museum record
- Art Institute of Chicago
Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.