The Improvement of Morals
- Medium
- Etching and engraving on ivory laid paper
- Dimensions
- Plate: 21.2 × 33.5 cm (8 3/8 × 13 1/4 in.); Sheet: 22 × 34.5 cm (8 11/16 × 13 5/8 in.)
- Genre
- etching
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
engraving (printing process)printingprintprints and drawingetchingpaper (fiber product)
About
This plate satirizes the efforts of Merlino, an inferior Berlin engraver who drew attention to bizarre current events through his weekly publications. At the center, a scaffold holds thirteen images. To the right, a street musician performs before a crowd, while on the left a hot-air baloon goes up in flames. In the background are caricatures and depictions of crimes.
