E18 – The great temptation

“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.” (Matthew IV, 8)

This engraving should actually follow E19 (The Temptation) which itself consists of three parts, of which this engraving should be the last.

We see a very high mountain that resembles an Indian temple where we see two small figures, Jesus Christ and the Devil. At the bottom we see snakes crawling and other vermin from the desert. The first plan represents Jerusalem, the second plan Rome, the third plan the democratic city, the fourth plan the modern metropolis and the fifth plan represents a mountain range. Delhez’s actual intention is to represent the projection of the attractiveness in space, both terrestrial and historical.

This work was made in Cocaraya (Bolivia) between the 29th of September 1934 and the 24th of January 1935.