Landscape, from a series of six landscapes titled "Observationib.Astronom.Regiae.Paris.Scient. Acad...1736"
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 2 3/8 × 4 5/16 in. (6.1 × 11 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.600.4358
Art Historical Context
Behold *Landscape*, one of six etched landscapes by French engraver Quentin Pierre Chedel, created in 1736 as illustrations for *Observationibus Astronomiae Reg Parisiensis Scientiarum Academiae*. This petite etching, measuring just 2 3/8 × 4 5/16 inches on trimmed sheet, captures the meticulous precision of 18th-century scientific artistry during the Enlightenment, when visual documentation bridged art and burgeoning empirical science. Part of a series tied to the Paris Academy of Sciences' astronomical observations, Chedel's work likely depicts scenic vistas relevant to celestial studies—pe...