Apothéose de Voltaire (The Apotheosis of Voltaire)

1782

Pierre-François Legrand, after Robert-Guillaume Dardel

Associated Names
Pierre-François Legrand

Artist, French, born 1743

Robert-Guillaume Dardel

Artist After, French, 1749 - 1821

This is a drawing of a celestial scene with a winged figure and a horse. The composition features a central figure with wings rising against a backdrop of clouds and rays of light. The figure stands atop a horse amid the clouds. Below, two other figures appear, with one looking towards the ascending figure and another reaching upwards. The scene is encapsulated within a circular border. The detailed drawing and classical themes suggest an allegorical ascent or transformation.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    color stipple etching with watercolor on cream wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of the Estate of Leo Steinberg

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 30 × 35 cm (11 13/16 × 13 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2011.139.34

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    IFF (1700), no. 2, State ii/ii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Leo Steinberg, New York (1920-2011); Estate of Leo Steinberg, New York; gift to NGA, 2011.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1930

  • Inventaire du Fonds Français, Graveurs du XIIIe siècle. Paris, 1930 - 1977: no. 2, ii/ii

Inscriptions

lower left in plate: Dardel Invenit et del. 1778; lower fight in plate: Le Grand sculp. 1782; lower center in plate: APOTHÉOSE DE VOLTAIRE. / Dediée a sa Majesté le Roi de Prusse / A Paris chez Le Grand, rue St. Jacques, vis-a-vis celle / des Mathurins, No. 41 par ses très humbles et très Obeissants serviteurs, Dardel et Le Grand; Imprimée par Gayant ; by later hand, lower verso in graphite: Béraldi II. p. 642 / Robt Guillaume Dardel, sculptor / 1749 - Paris - 1821 / pupil of Pajou (did tomb of Frederick the Great) / Louis Le Grand, engraver, ca. 1730 - Paris - ca. 1784; by later hand, lower left in graphite: L. 270 / 675936 [crossed out]

Wikidata ID

Q76559045

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