Boucher composed this sweeping allegorical frame as one of the frontispieces in Owen MacSwiny’s Tombs of Princes, Great Captains, and Other Illustrious Men, a volume of engravings featuring allegorical tombs of notable Englishmen. This composition introduced the tomb of Sidney Godolphin (1645–1712), a British politician instrumental in negotiating the Acts of Union in 1707, which established Great Britain as a political entity. Boucher’s frame was ultimately engraved by Charles-Nicolas Cochin the Younger for the print publication.
François Boucher (1703–1770)
Design for frontispiece to “Tombeau du comte Sidney Godolphin,” ca. 1735–36
Pen and black ink, and gray and brown wash, heightened with white chalk, over black chalk
Purchased as the gift of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman in honor of Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard; 1985.68