Portrait of Voltaire, after His Bust by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne II
1770s
- Medium
- Graphite, incised for transfer (recto); red chalk used for transfer (verso)
- Dimensions
- 18.4 × 13.5 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-199767
Augustin de Saint-Aubin is best known for reproductive engraving he made after portraits painted or sculpted by other artists. He produced this design in preparation for one such engraving; its engaging likeness of Voltaire records not a portrait sitting with the great Enlightenment philosopher himself but a careful study of his bust, which Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne II had sculpted in 1748. Having made the drawing with a graphite pencil, Saint-Aubin delicately scored it with a sharp implement to facilitate its transfer to a copper plate for engraving. The verso of the sheet is covered in red chalk: a further deposit of the transfer process.
Provenance
Gift of Marty de Cambiaire in honor of Lee Hendrix
Registry history
- 1770s — Recorded in the collection of J. Paul Getty Museum — drawings
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