Le Blessé (The Wounded)

c. 1748, published in or after 1754

Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin

Associated Names
Henri M. Petiet

Artist, French, 1894 - 1980

Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin

Artist, French, 1721 - 1786

Etienne Fessard

Publisher, French, 1714 - 1777

This is a drawing of anthropomorphic insects on a platform. The drawing depicts three anthropomorphic butterflies carrying a fourth insect, which appears to be a moth, on a stretcher-like device. Two butterflies are at each end of the stretcher, walking with their small legs, while the moth lies in the middle with wings spread and looks as though it is resting or unconscious. Above, a smaller insect is floating in the air, holding onto an umbrella. The platform on which this scene occurs is detailed with foliage and beards, and it sits suspended in space. The drawing is rendered in fine lines, with attention to the delicate textures of the wings and the organic shapes of the landscape.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 18.2 × 27.5 cm (7 3/16 × 10 13/16 in.)
    sheet: 30.3 × 44.7 cm (11 15/16 × 17 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1958.8.126

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Baudicour, no. 4

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, 3 June 1955, no. 68); (via Henri M. Petiet, Paris); Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA; gift to NGA, 1958.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • Drolleries and Demons: Six Centuries of 'Fantastic' Prints, IBM Gallery, New York, NY, 1965, no. 38.

Bibliography

1859

  • Baudicour, Prosper de. Le peintre-graveur français continue, ou catalogue raisonné des estampes gravees par les peintres et les dessinateurs de l'ecole française nes dans le XVIIIe siècle. 2 vols. Paris, 1859-1861. Reprint, Paris, 1967: Prosper de. Le peintre-graveur français continue, ou catalogue raisonné des estampes gravees par les peintres et les dessinateurs de l'ecole française nes dans le XVIIIe siècle. 2 vols. Paris: Mme Bouchard Huzard, Rapilly [etc.], 1859-1861.

Inscriptions

recto: in plate, in image, at lower center: LE / BLESSÉ; verso: at center in brown ink in 18th-century hand: No 95 [?]

Markings

recto: none; verso: National Gallery of Art

Watermarks

to be identified

Wikidata ID

Q65222194

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