Currently not on view
The Younger Pliny Reproved,
1794
Thomas Burke, British, 1749–1815
after Angelica Kauffmann, 1741–1807; born Chur, Switzerland; died Rome, Italy
after Angelica Kauffmann, 1741–1807; born Chur, Switzerland; died Rome, Italy
x1977-11
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.
Information
Title
The Younger Pliny Reproved
Dates
1794
Maker
Medium
Stipple engraving
Dimensions
plate: 43.4 x 50.6 cm (17 1/16 x 19 15/16 in.)
sheet: 45.7 x 53.4 cm (18 x 21 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, gift of Mrs. Roger Wolcott Hooker
Object Number
x1977-11
Inscription
engraved inscriptions in lower margin, left: Angelica Kauffmann pinxt.; right: Burke sculpt.
Culture
Type
