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.

Two Medallions

Hubert François Gravelot
1699-1773

Two Medallions

ca. 1770
7 3/16 x 4 5/16 inches (183 x 110 mm)
Pen and black ink over graphite, on paper; verso rubbed with black chalk.
1963.13:19

Gift of John F. Fleming.

Notes
Gravelot's sketch was probably intended for an engraved illustration to Abbé Jean Raymond de Petity's "Les Voeux de la France et de l'Empire...." (Paris : 1770). The sheet contains two medallion designs, the upper one featuring a Minerva-like goddess with a shield and spear triumphing over three female figures symbolizing vice. The lower design depicts a seated nude woman being crowned by a winged genius. According to Ruth Kraemer, “The double-headed eagle on the shield next to the nude woman certainly links the drawing to Marie Antoinette, a Hapsburg princess.” The Morgan preserves two further designs for Petity's publication: see 1963.13:20 and 1968.15:39.
Kraemer, discussing a related sketch in the Morgan's collection (1968.15:39), remarked that “the subject of the two sketches on one sheet (1963.13:19) may be considered another version of the theme of “A Benign Goddess” (une Déesse Bienfaisante)--a reference, of course, to Marie Antoinette--mentioned in the text to pl. vi of Petity's book. Gravelot's first ideas most likely were changed in accordance with the author's wishes.”
Associated names
Fourquevaux, Joseph de Beccarie de Pavie, marquis de, 1762-1841, former owner.
Bocher, Emmanuel, 1835-1919, former owner.
Olry-Roederer, Léon, 1869-1932, former owner.
Rosenbach, A. S. W. (Abraham Simon Wolf), 1876-1952, former owner.
Fleming, John F. (John Francis), 1910-1987, former owner.
Bibliography
Kraemer, Ruth S. "Drawings by Gravelot in the Morgan Library." Master drawings, XX (Spring 1982), p. 12, no. 36, reproduced plate 11.
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Department