Printer's Devil 1895

Editor: This is Francis Scott King's "Printer's Devil" from 1895. It's a print, and it strikes me as this elaborate, almost gothic scene. All these different figures… I am fascinated by this, what symbols should I pay closer attention to when looking at it? Curator: Notice how the central figure, the devil himself, is framed by the “Ex Libris” cartouche. Think about the context – this is the era of the rise of mass media, burgeoning literacy, and also anxieties about its effects. What do devils represent? Editor: Chaos, temptation, the darker side of humanity, I guess. Curator: Exactly! So, a "Printer's Devil" becomes a symbolic warning. Is it about unchecked information or power? Now consider what he’s lording over – what looks to be the tools of printing and learning, dominated by a malevolent figure. Even the classically inspired figures seem caught in this dark web. Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way, about the danger of knowledge being corrupted or misused. It is an allegory then. Curator: Absolutely. And the artist uses established visual language to give shape to anxieties of the era: anxieties about the role of the printing press to shape people's thought and action, particularly the figure of the working class. Is knowledge, at this point of technological revolution, going to corrupt or to enlighten? This becomes King’s central, symbolic question. Editor: I see it so differently now! Thank you! It feels much more charged, less like just a quirky design, and more about the tension of progress. Curator: Indeed! By looking closer at its symbols, the artist speaks to this concern for the role and impact of knowledge as we approach a new century.