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Source Description
Madame de Pompadour is depicted here as Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and patron of the arts, placing a cornucopia (horn of plenty) on a lathe, or turning machine, to honor the art of gem carving. The winged putto behind her carries a shield bearing Pompadour’s coat of arms instead of the head of Medusa typically found on Minerva’s shield. Guay designed the intaglio on which this print is based as a tribute to his devoted patron. By translating the tiny and translucent carved gem into the black-and-white print medium, Pompadour made the image far more legible to the naked eye.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
95464
label
Minerva, Benefactor and Patron of Carving on Precious Stones, from Madame de Pompadour's ""Suite of Prints""
core
obj
dtoType
print
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
95464
contentType
print
stage
normalized
title
Minerva, Benefactor and Patron of Carving on Precious Stones, from Madame de Pompadour's ""Suite of Prints""
description
Madame de Pompadour is depicted here as Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and patron of the arts, placing a cornucopia (horn of plenty) on a lathe, or turning machine, to honor the art of gem carving. The winged putto behind her carries a shield bearing Pompadour’s coat of arms instead of the head of Medusa typically found on Minerva’s shield. Guay designed the intaglio on which this print is based as a tribute to his devoted patron. By translating the tiny and translucent carved gem into the black-and-white print medium, Pompadour made the image far more legible to the naked eye.
provenance
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, ca. 1755. Purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1895; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
date
ca. 1755
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
rare books
etchings
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
37
height
23.8
dimensionsRaw
Folio H: 14 9/16 × W: 9 3/8 in. (37 × 23.8 cm)
Source extras
med
ink on paper (etched and engraved)
creator_ids
20397
34008
5152
collection_ids
MSS
EAN
exhibition_ids
3390
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
4c0e13a017a88851