Read the visual description
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.
National Gallery of Art · Print
Apothéose de Voltaire (The Apotheosis of Voltaire)
Pierre-François Legrand, after Robert-Guillaume Dardel
- Date
- 1782
- Medium
- color stipple etching with watercolor on cream wove paper
- Dimensions
- sheet: 30 × 35 cm (11 13/16 × 13 3/4 in.)
- Classification
- Accession number
- 2011.139.34
- Credit line
- Gift of the Estate of Leo Steinberg
- Time span
- 1776 to 1800
- Department
- CG-E
Subjects and terms
- Nude
- Horse
- Costume
- Figures
- Cloud
Provenance
Leo Steinberg, New York (1920-2011); Estate of Leo Steinberg, New York; gift to NGA, 2011.
Inscription
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]
NGA object ID 156055. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.