Design for a Token: Galères, 1740
1740
Medium
Red chalk; red chalk wash surrounding design.
Dimensions
8 3/8 x 8 7/16 in. (21.3 x 21.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1961
Accession Number
61.165.5
Art Historical Context
Edme Bouchardon's *Design for a Token:ères, 1740*, captures the elegance of French Rococo draftsmanship in a preparatory sketch for a ceremonial token, or *jeton*. Created during the reign of Louis XV, these tokens were often used in administrative or commemorative contexts, here featuring *galères*—sleek galley ships symbolizing naval prowess and France's maritime ambitions. Bouchardon, a leading sculptor and engraver celebrated for monumental works like the Fontaine desatre Saisons in Paris, brought his mastery of form to this intimate design, blending historical symbolism with refined artis...
About the Artist
Edme Bouchardon · 1698–1762
Born 29 May 1698; died 27 July 1762. Bouchardon was a student of Guillaume Coustou, and won the prix de Rome in 1722. He spent ten years (1722-1732) in Rome, Italy working on various projects for Pope Clement XII. In 1732 Bouchardon was recalled to Paris and named sculptor to the king. Bouchardon became a professor at the Académie Royale in 1746. He worked on an equestrian monument of Louis XV, Ki...