"Apotheosis of Voltaire"
1785–90
Medium
Linen
Dimensions
L. 43 x W. 36 inches 109.2 x 91.4 cm
Classification
Textiles-Printed
Culture
French, Nantes
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William Sloane Coffin, 1926
Accession Number
26.265.29
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Apotheosis of Voltaire," created by the French printer Dubern in Nantes between 1785 and 1790, is a striking printed linen textile measuring 43 by 36 inches. Produced shortly after Voltaire's death in 1778, this work celebrates the Enlightenment philosopher's legacy through a dramatic scene of deification, blending human figures—likely including men in boats—with symbolic birds, evoking ascent to the heavens. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, it exemplifies the vibrant textile traditions of late 18th-century France. Nantes was a ...