Name: The Souls On Jacob's Ladder 4
Brand: Damien Hirst
Rating: 5 (234 reviews)

Track auction value trend

Damien Hirst's The Souls On Jacob's Ladder 4, a signed intaglio print from 2007, is estimated to be worth between £7,000 and £10,500. This artwork has been sold twice at auction since its initial sale on 29th April 2009. There have been no sales in the last 12 months or the last five years, but the current average annual growth rate is 4%. This work is part of a limited edition of 72.

Auction Date

Auction House

Location

Hammer Price

Return to Seller

Buyer Paid

October 2009

Bonhams Knightsbridge

United Kingdom

April 2009

Ketterer Kunst Hamburg

Germany

Meaning & Analysis

The Souls on Jacob’s Ladder 4 is an intaglio print from Damien Hirst’s The Souls On Jacob’s Ladder Take Their Flight series from 2007. The print shows an image of a small green and black butterfly with its wings outspread, set against a black backdrop. Hirst produces a striking effect in the print by contrasting the luminous colouring of the butterfly very starkly against the flattened, dark background.

The butterfly motif is a prominent figure that Hirst has used throughout his career. The title of this series points to the story of Jacob’s Ladder in Christianity that represents the connection between God and man. Hirst is fascinated by the interrelationship between aesthetics, science and religion and The Souls On Jacob’s Ladder Take Their Flight series succinctly brings these elements together through the motif of the butterfly.

Behind the intricate appearance of the beautifully rendered butterfly is a tragic set of meanings; their three-day life span reminding the viewer of the fleeting and fragile nature of life itself. Hirst plays with religious stories and beliefs through the highly aestheticised image of the butterfly, all the while pointing to themes of mortality and human life.

Damien Hirst, born in Bristol in 1965, is often hailed the enfant terrible of the contemporary art world. His provocative works challenge conventions and his conceptual brilliance spans installations, paintings, and sculptures, often exploring themes of mortality and the human experience. As a leading figure of the Young British Artists (YBA) movement in the late '80s, Hirst's work has dominated the British art scene for decades and has become renowned for being laced with controversy, thus shaping the dialogue of modern art.