Globe with Mapping Instruments

Art Historical Context

Step into the Enlightenment's world of discovery with *Globe with Mapping Instruments*, an exquisite 18th-century etching engraving by French sculptor Edme Bouchardon and engraver Etienne Fessard This intimate print, measuring just 9 7/8 × 4 inches, captures a terrestrial globe surrounded by precision tools like telescopes and mapping devices, evoking the era's passion for science and exploration. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Drawings and Prints department, was generously gifted by Henry W. Kent in 1941. Bouchardon's design reflects the Rococo elegance blended with neoclassical precision, while Fessard's masterful etching and engraving techniques bring intricate details to life—fine lines rendering metallic gleams and delicate engravings ensuring durability for study. Prints like this were vital in the 1700s, democratizing scientific imagery when globes and telescopes were rarities owned by elites. This artwork symbolizes the intellectual fervor of the Age of Reason, bridging art and science amid voyages like Cook's and the rise of cartography. A charming window into how 18th-century minds mapped the unknown, it invites us to ponder humanity's enduring quest for knowledge.

About the Artist

Edme Bouchardon|Etienne Fessard · 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...