Couronnement de Voltaire (The Crowning of Voltaire)

1782

Charles-Etienne Gaucher after Jean-Michel Moreau

Associated Names
Charles-Etienne Gaucher

Artist, French, 1741 - 1804

Jean-Michel Moreau the Younger

Artist After, French, 1741 - 1814

This is a drawing of a theatrical performance in an archway setting. The full representation portrays an elaborate scene featuring an ornate stage set within a grand, architectural backdrop with large arches. The drawing captures detailed architectural elements, including rows of arches and a panel of columns, framing the performance area. The balconies are filled with onlookers observing the scene. The performers on stage are dressed in elaborate costumes, suggestive of a historical or classical drama. The audience below the stage also showcases intricate detailing.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed within platemark): 18.6 × 23.9 cm (7 5/16 × 9 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1946.11.109

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Bocher 1882, no. 261, State a, i/vii

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1950

  • Rosenwald Collection: An Exhibition of Recent Acquisitions, NGA, 1950, no. 91, repro.

1965

  • Master Prints from the Rosenwald Collection, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 1965, no. 84.

Bibliography

1882

  • Bocher, Emmanuel. Jean Michel Moreau le jeune. Les gravures francaises du XVIIIe siecle, 6. Paris: Damascene Morgand et Charles Fatout, 1882.

Inscriptions

recto: in plate, below image, at center: APDR; in graphite, at bottom right, in later hand: 1446; verso: none

Markings

recto: none; verso: National Gallery of Art

Watermarks

none

Wikidata ID

Q65071300

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