Benevolence
Benevolence
Signed Print
Damien Hirst
£20,000-£29,000
$40,000-$60,000 Value Indicator
$35,000-$50,000 Value Indicator
¥190,000-¥280,000 Value Indicator
€23,000-€35,000 Value Indicator
$210,000-$310,000 Value Indicator
¥3,980,000-¥5,760,000 Value Indicator
$27,000-$40,000 Value Indicator
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91 x 91cm, Edition of 50, Screenprint
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Meaning & Analysis
Damien Hirst’s Benevolence is a signed screen print, produced in 2011 and published in conjunction with Other Criteria, London. The print depicts an intricate and symmetrical arrangement of butterflies set against a pale yellow background. Hirst used diamond dust and wove paper to produce the print.
The pale yellow background provides a backdrop for the kaleidoscopic concentric pattern of butterflies. Indeed, it may be compared to many other series in Hirst’s oeuvre. Initially, one recalls the Kaleidoscope series of screen prints. Hirst had been creating kaleidoscopic works since his 2001 It’s a Wonderful World work. In these instances, Hirst explores how butterflies may be arranged to produce a pattern. However, the Benevolence print is unique. The densely packed composition and the variety in sizes of the butterflies gives it a distinct visual appeal. In this regard, it stands out from the Kaleidoscope series.
Similarly, Hirst has used butterflies in several other series. Both the 2009 Sanctum, and the 2011 New Beginnings series are examples of this. In this period Hirst was exploring how he could arrange butterflies in a variety of ways to create distinct prints.
Both the title, Benevolence, and the aesthetic achieved in the work allude to a deeper religious significance. The work evokes the feeling of a stained glass window. The religious sentiment is shared with the Sanctum series where the titles of the six works similarly allude to ecclesiastical architectural features.