Two Merovingian Heads

Art Historical Context

In the Prints and Drawings collection at the Art Institute of Chicago,Two Merovingian Heads (1817) by French printmaker Auguste Gaspard Louisoucher Desnoyers captures intrigue of early medieval history. Desnoyers, a skilled engraver active during the Napoleonic era, depicts a pair of stern, bearded faces evoking the Merovingian—the Frankish rulers of 5th- to 8th-century Gaul who shaped the foundations of modern France. Created amid Romanticism's fascination with the past, this work reflects a growing 19th-century curiosity about national origins and barbarian-era artistry. Printed as a lithograph in black ink on smooth ivory wove paper, then tipped onto buff laid paper for support, the piece exemplifies an innovative medium just coming into vogue. Lithography, invented less than two decades earlier, allowed artists like Desnoyers to draw directly on stone with greasy crayon, producing fluid, tonal effects impossible in traditional engraving. Measuring a modest 17 × 26.7 cm, its intimate scale invites close study of the expressive profiles and intricate hatching that convey age, power, and mystery. This early lithograph not only showcases Desnoyers' technical mastery but also bridges classical portraiture with historical revivalism, offering visitors a window into how 19th-century artists reimagined Europe's ancient forebears.