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Alliance of Austria and France, from Madame de Pompadour's "Suite of Prints"
Madame de Pompadour commemorated the 1756 alliance between France and Austria by commissioning an allegorical agate cameo. In Pompadour’s etching of this cameo, subtle pictorial and compositional modifications to the original carved gem make meaningful changes. On the cameo, the figures personifying France and Austria form vertical masses that appear stiff and locked in place. In the print, their agile bodies incline forward with front legs gracefully extended, as though they are actively moving toward each other in unity.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, ca. 1755. Purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1895; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
| 2016 | Madame de Pompadour, Patron and Printmaker. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
France, Paris (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 14 9/16 × W: 9 3/8 in. (37 × 23.8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1895
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
92.548.60
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Parent Object
