Angel Piping to the Souls in Hell 1897

Evelyn De Morgan painted 'Angel Piping to the Souls in Hell' at the height of the British Aesthetic Movement. Here we see an angel standing between the earth and the depths of hell, playing a pipe to ease the suffering of the souls. De Morgan uses the traditional symbolism of an angel to express a radical idea: that even the torments of hell can be eased through beauty and compassion. The Aesthetic Movement was committed to 'art for art's sake'. It was self-consciously progressive in its rejection of Victorian moralism. This was a time when art institutions were in flux. New kinds of galleries and art schools arose, and the role of women in art was hotly debated. Did De Morgan intend a critique of institutional authority? Historians consider the social context of art by researching such things as exhibition records, artists' letters, and critical reviews. These resources help us understand how the meaning of art is always entangled with the institutions that shape it.