Currently not on view
Blind Homer at the Edge of the Sea,
1816
Jean Baptiste Raphaël Urbain Massard, French, 1775–1843
after François Gérard Baron, French, 1770–1837
after François Gérard Baron, French, 1770–1837
x1937-146
A favorite pupil of Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), Baron François Gérard became one of the most fashionable portrait painters in the Napoleonic Empire. He went on to accept a position as painter to the King following the restoration of the monarchy under Louis XVIII in 1814. In addition to painting flattering Neoclassical portraits, Gérard specialized in mythological and antique subjects, as in his painting
depicting the blind poet Homer being led by a youth, skillfully reproduced in this engraving by Massard. The romantic image of Homer as the Blind Bard—wandering penniless but revered by the common man—was a subject favored by David and his students, for whom it represented the triumphant survival of the Arts following tempestuous years of revolution and war.
depicting the blind poet Homer being led by a youth, skillfully reproduced in this engraving by Massard. The romantic image of Homer as the Blind Bard—wandering penniless but revered by the common man—was a subject favored by David and his students, for whom it represented the triumphant survival of the Arts following tempestuous years of revolution and war.
Information
Title
Blind Homer at the Edge of the Sea
Dates
1816
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
plate: 55.5 x 41 cm (21 7/8 x 16 1/8 in.)
sheet: 67 x 50.4 cm (26 3/8 x 19 13/16 in.)
frame: 77.5 × 62.2 × 2.5 cm (30 1/2 × 24 1/2 × 1 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Junius S. Morgan, Class of 1888
Object Number
x1937-146
Place Made
Europe, France
Inscription
Titled in plate, lower center: HOMERE
Inscribed in plate, lower left and right: F. Gérard Pinxt. / Raph. Urbn. Massard Sculp. 1816.
Marks/Labels/Seals
Collector's blindstamp, loewr left: Lewis Lloyd (Lugt 2802)
Reference Numbers
Beraldi 18; Le Blanc 32
Type
Materials
Techniques
Subject
Lewis Loyd [1811-1891, Lugt 2802]; presumably sale of his collection, London, July 7-8, 1902; Junius S. Morgan [1867-1932]; bequeathed to Princeton University Art Museum, 1932.
