Pope Pius VII on the Saône
Medium
Etching with drypoint; third state of three
Dimensions
Sheet: 12 3/16 × 16 3/4 in. (31 × 42.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Georgiana W. Sargent, in memory of John Osborne Sargent, 1924
Accession Number
24.63.907
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1805, French printmaker Jean-Jacques de Boieu captured a momentous papal visit in *Pope Pius VII on the Sa*, an etching with drypoint from the third and final state of three. This evocative print depicts Pope Pius VII a boat gliding along the Saône River in Lyon, France, by attendants amid a grand procession. The scene reflects the Pope's journey through France that year, en route to Paris for Napoleon Bonaparte's coronation as emperor—a pivotal moment blending religious authority and rising secular power. Boissieu, a master of 18th- and early 19th-century printmaking, excelled in etching ...
About the Artist
Jean Jacques de Boissieu · 1736–1810
French, Lyons 1736–1810 Lyons