Allegorie op de hebzucht 1844

Adolphe Mouilleron made this allegorical print on an unknown date using burin. In it, we can see a central figure counting his coins at a table as supplicants crowd around him. The image speaks to the artist’s thoughts on wealth and its social impact. Mouilleron made this print in France, a nation undergoing rapid industrialization in the 19th century and the rise of a wealthy bourgeoisie class. The work is filled with references to the Dutch Golden Age when similar cautionary tales were commonplace, showing the ways that new economic realities were viewed through the lens of earlier artistic traditions. To understand this print fully, we would need to consider the economic and cultural history of 19th-century France. Through archives and historical research, we can better understand the relationship between art and commerce and to reflect on the meaning of this image in its own time and for today.