Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Serpent at the base of an altar

Clément Pierre Marillier
1740-1808

Serpent at the base of an altar

3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches (90 x 90 mm)
Pen and ink with sepia wash over graphite, on paper.
2003.23:2

Bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987.

Notes
One of a set of six drawings by Marillier for vignettes to illustrate an unidentified publication.
Summary

Drawing shows a stricken serpent coiled around the base of an altar billowing smoke, with an open copy of Holbach's Système de la nature at its tail and lightening depicted in the background.

Associated names
Ray, Gordon Norton, 1915-1986, former owner.
Bibliography
Reproduced in: The art of the French illustrated book, 1700 to 1914 / Gordon N. Ray. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1982, p. 86.
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Department