A True Picture of the Famous Skreen Describ’d in the London Journal No. 85
Bernard Picart? (French, 1673–1733), 1721, Etching and engraving
Published in March 1721 in the wake of the South Sea Company collapse, this print is ascribed to Bernard Picart, though his name could have been forged by another engraver wanting to avoid censure for its libelous content. Behind a screen decorated with a bust of the British MP Robert Walpole, whose protection of high-level investors earned him the nickname “Screenmaster General,” are several corrupt government associates. They include Chancellor of the Exchequer John Aislabie, later jailed for his participation in the scheme, and a royal mistress accused of accepting South Sea stock as bribes. Appearing as mirror reflections and shadows on the wall, they personify descriptions of modern finance by Daniel Defoe and others as all “shadow” and no substance.
: Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs
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