Emblem XII

Charles Bennett

1861

Wood engraving by an unidentified engraver

2¾ x 2¼ inches

Illustration for Quarles’ Emblems, p.50.

Another of Bennett’s most disconcerting images, in part a lesson about surfeit and starvation, both moral and physical, and in part a commentary on the inequalities of mid-Victorian society. It visceral immediacy, notably in the contrast between the obscene plenty of the breasts and the starving child, is typical of his capacity to shock his viewers.

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Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.

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