# The Genius of Evil

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/geefs-guillaume-r4d281d86feba53/the-genius-of-evil-r6a2163c000f953>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [GEEFS, Guillaume](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/geefs-guillaume-r4d281d86feba53>)
- Date: 1801-1850
- Technique: Marble

## Commentary

The statue of the Genius of Evil \(or Lucifer\) is located within the elaborate pulpit of St. Paul&#39;s Cathedral. It depicts a classically beautiful man in his physical prime, chained, seated, and nearly nude but for drapery gathered over his thighs, his full length ensconced within a mandorla of bat wings. Geefs&#39;s work replaces an earlier sculpture created for the space by his younger brother Joseph Geefs which was removed from the cathedral because of its distracting allure.

## Related artworks

- [Statue of Peter Paul Rubens](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/geefs-guillaume-r4d281d86feba53/statue-of-peter-paul-rubens-r45eaa8e1e0a439>)
- [The Lion in Love](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/geefs-guillaume-r4d281d86feba53/the-lion-in-love-rb2adcc491fa87d>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)