Sixth Commandment: Kill not, abet not those who kill; thou shalt not pay the butcher’s bill

Artist:

Peter Paone

(b. 1936)

Sixth Commandment: Kill not, abet not those who kill; thou shalt not pay the butcher’s bill

Medium: Etching in aquatint on paper
Date: 1963
Dimensions:
30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.9 cm.)
Accession number: 2023.13.37
Curatorial RemarksIn a poignant depiction of vanitas (works of art that include objects that remind the viewer of mortality), Peter Paone (b. 1936) juxtaposes a skull resembling the cross section of a female and a male figure with infant bodies and adult faces floating in the inky atmosphere.


Completed in 1963, The Ten Commandments of Ambrose Bierce garnered Paone a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1965, allowing him to study in London and Paris. The Brandywine’s exhibition, “In Shadows’ Embrace: Prints by Peter Paone” (2024) is the first time in 57 years that the portfolio is being shown in full, the last being at the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris.

On view