This 'one-picture, many-labels' exhibition introduced the Ackland's label project and illustrated some of the many ways in which a single work of art might be understood with the painting 'Satan at the Court of Chaos.' The labels delt with subject matter, underlying text, historical-political and aesthetic context, artist and style, and issues of conservation.

Subject Matter: this painting illustrated a scene from Book II of 'Paradise Lost' (1667), John Milton's epic poem about humanity's temptation and fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. On his way from Hell to earth, Satan must pass through the realm of Chaos where he confronts the awesome gods of disorder and ruin along with their ruler, Chaos himself. The artist has chosen the moment when Chaos, with a gesture of his hand, grants the request to pass through his domain. and Satan turns powerfully toward earth to bring sorrow and death to humankind.

The Text: to read the text that this artwork is based off of, it is from John Milton's Paradise Lost, lines 954-967, 1010-1016 of Book II which can be found online for free. The lines discussed start off with "...thither he plyes" and finishes with "Environ'd, wins his way"

Artist and Style: the identity of the artist who painted 'Satan at the Court of Chaos' is unknown. The style of the painting is similar to that of a circle of English artists of the late eighteenth century, suggesting the same place and date for this painting's creation.

Conservation Issues: this painting is not usually on display at the Ackland, due in part to its fragile condition. While the technical need not keep the painting off display in the Ackland, they do raise concerns and do prohibit the paining from traveling to other museums as an inter-museum loan.

Historical and Political Context: artists of the late eighteenth century were drawn to Milton's works because of his radical, revolutionary sentiments. For them, Milton's Satan became a hero for his revolt against the ultimate power of God, which they saw as similar to the common people's revolt against the tyranny of the European Monarchies.

Aesthetic Context: central to late eighteenth-century aesthetics was the notion of the Sublime, that which moves the soul through terror and awe, producing the greatest emotion the mind is capable of feeling. Artists of this period created extensive cycles of illustrations of Milton's 'Paradise Lost,' yet their illustrations were equally concerned with capturing the deep emotion of Milton's awe-inspiring epic as with visually translating his text.