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Source Description
The cameo portrait of Madame de Pompadour’s pet spaniel is lost; this print is our only record of what the gem looked like. The image captures a fleeting moment: the dog pauses mid-trot with head turned and tail raised, as if she has been startled. In the 18th century, gem carving was understood to be an especially permanent and durable medium because of the strength of stone and the survival of so many carved gems from antiquity. The depiction of this ephemeral subject in a durable medium is perhaps a witty commentary on carved gems and their typical seriousness.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
95517
label
Portrait of Madame de Pompadour’s Dog (Bébé?), from Madame de Pompadour's ""Suite of Prints""
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
95517
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Portrait of Madame de Pompadour’s Dog (Bébé?), from Madame de Pompadour's ""Suite of Prints""
description
The cameo portrait of Madame de Pompadour’s pet spaniel is lost; this print is our only record of what the gem looked like. The image captures a fleeting moment: the dog pauses mid-trot with head turned and tail raised, as if she has been startled. In the 18th century, gem carving was understood to be an especially permanent and durable medium because of the strength of stone and the survival of so many carved gems from antiquity. The depiction of this ephemeral subject in a durable medium is perhaps a witty commentary on carved gems and their typical seriousness.
provenance
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, ca. 1755. Purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1895; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
date
ca. 1758
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
rare books
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
2724
5152
collection_ids
MSS
EAN
exhibition_ids
3390
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
15da5547fefae540