Drawing Illustrating Act III, Scene V of Racine's Mithridate
Purchased on the Gordon Ray Fund and the Fellows Endowment Fund.
This design for a book illustration is the Morgan's first work by the French neoclassical artist Peyron, a rival of Jacques Louis David. It is for one of the triumphs of luxury book publishing during the era, a three-volume edition of the works of Racine, with full-page illustrations each of for the six included plays, each play being illustrated by the same artist for consistency. The Morgan preserves a copy of Didot's publication (of which only 250 examples were printed) in the Gordon Ray Collection (PML 140193-195), as well as three other preparatory drawings, two by Antoine-Denis Chaudet, one for "Esther" (inv. 2002.12) and the other for "Athalie" (inv. 2002.13), and one by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson for "Phèdre" (inv. 1997.3).
Inscribed with the relevant passages of the play, from Act III, Scene 5: MONIME / Avant que votre amour m'eut envoye ce gage / Nous aimions... Seineur, vois changes de visage? MITHRIDATE/ Non, Madame. Il suffit. Je vais vous l'envoyer.
Signed at lower left, "P. Peyron inv. et fec."
Didier Aaron, New York. former owner.