The Golden Calf

1859

François-Nicolas Chifflart’s 1859 masterpiece takes the biblical tale of the Golden Calf and turns it into a biting critique of greed. At the center sits a monstrous, bull-headed king on a throne, explicitly labeled 'IL RE DENARO' (King Money), surrounded by fawning worshippers and armed guards. Beneath this platform of idolatry, a dark pit is filled with twisted, suffering bodies, illustrating the human cost of worshipping wealth. It’s a dramatic, Romantic-era warning that the love of money is a deadly business.

Technique: Lithograph

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