Vase de marbre blanc de six pieds trois pouces de haut, dans la grande allée à Versailles
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-475-16
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This striking print captures a monumental white marble vase standing in the grand allée of the Palace of Versailles, a site that embodied French royal grandeur in the mid-eighteenth century. Created by Marie Michelle Blondel between 1744 and 1756, the work records a specific sculptural feature from the famed gardens, where such ornate vases lined the formal pathways designed under Louis XIV and maintained during the reign of Louis XV. Though details of Blondel’s life remain sparse, her activity as a French printmaker places her within a tradition of artists who documented the nation’s artistic...