Gauntlet Gallery
What is Cleon Peterson’s piece called “Revolution Is A Mother Who Eats Its Children (Bone Tondo)”
Summary
A circular (tondo) screen print in which two hulking solid-black figures, each gripping a club, beat and trample paler gray figures who collapse and writhe beneath them on a bone-white ground. It is a characteristic Cleon Peterson allegory of devouring power, here cast in a Greek-tondo format that links his brutal scenes of domination to classical vase painting.
Why It Matters
The work distills Peterson's central thesis - that civilization runs on the abuse of power and the strong consuming the weak - into a single, legible roundel. By staging the carnage inside a tondo, the format used on the interiors of ancient Greek drinking cups, Peterson frames present-day brutality as something timeless and cyclical, the same violence repeating across history. The flat black-on-bone palette and silhouetted, anatomically exaggerated bodies show the artist at his most graphically reductive and forceful, where clubs, bared teeth, and crumpling limbs carry the entire narrative without color or background.
Collector Perspective
A 2024 screen print in a tight edition of only 24, which places it among Peterson's scarcer recent releases - well below the 100-plus runs typical of his standard prints. Collectors should expect it to be hand-signed and numbered in pencil (visible at the lower edge). The tondo / round format and very low edition size make it a desirable example for a focused Peterson holding rather than a casual decorative buy; its appeal rests on rarity and the strength of the imagery rather than broad name recognition.
Historical Context
Cleon Peterson (b. 1973, Seattle) built his reputation through the 2010s on stark, high-contrast tableaux of fighting, clubbing, and writhing figures that lay bare the violence beneath social order. This 2024 print belongs to that ongoing body of work and to his recurring engagement with classical antiquity - the End of Empire vases, Sirens, and Greek-derived compositions - here channeled through the tondo, the round picture field of ancient cup interiors. The title's image of a revolution devouring its own children draws on a long political-historical trope, reframed in Peterson's signature monochrome allegory.
FAQ
What does this print depict?
Two large solid-black figures wielding clubs beat and trample smaller gray figures who collapse beneath them, set inside a circular bone-white field - an allegory of power devouring the weak.
Why is it round?
It uses the tondo format, the round picture field found on the interiors of ancient Greek cups, tying Peterson's modern violence to classical vase painting.
What is the edition size?
The edition is limited to 24.
Is it signed and numbered?
Yes - Peterson's prints are hand-signed and numbered in pencil, with the signature visible along the lower edge of this impression.
What medium is it?
It is a screen print, produced in 2024.
Who is Cleon Peterson?
A Seattle-born (1973) artist known for flat, high-contrast black/white/red/gold scenes of violence and the abuse of power, drawing on Greek vase painting, Hogarth, and street art, and a frequent Shepard Fairey collaborator.
Related Works
About the Artist
Cleon Peterson (b. 1973, Seattle) is an American artist known for stark, high-contrast scenes of violence, power and social conflict, rendered in a flat, limited palette of black, white, red and gold. His chaotic compositions of fighting, clubbing and writhing figures expose the abuse of power and the brutality beneath civilization’s surface, drawing on classical Greek vase painting, Hogarth and street art. A frequent collaborator with Shepard Fairey, he shows internationally; his prints, sculptures and editions are widely collected in the urban-contemporary market.
Collecting Cleon Peterson at Gauntlet Gallery
Where can I buy authentic Cleon Peterson prints?
Gauntlet Gallery offers an extensive, authenticated inventory of Cleon Peterson prints and contemporary editions, with new drops added regularly. Browse the current collection at gauntlet.gallery.
How does Gauntlet Gallery ensure authenticity?
Gauntlet Gallery is built on curation, authenticity and transparency — every work is vetted and its provenance, edition details and condition are disclosed up front.
Does Gauntlet Gallery add new Cleon Peterson prints?
Yes. New drops are released regularly across Cleon Peterson and other leading artists; see gauntlet.gallery for the latest inventory.