Natural philosophy
Date
1740
Creator
Etienne Fessard (1714 - 1777, French) , Engraver
After
Edmé Bouchardon (1698 - 1762, French) , Sculptor
Object type
Material
Dimensions
height (print): 254mm
width (print): 190mm
width (print): 190mm
Subject
Description
Allegorical scene showing a classical figure, perhaps intended as Iris, shown with a winged head, from which clouds are trailing. She holds a set of dividers and points to a celestial globe. To the right, a landscape with a sunrise over water, featuring a ship anchored by the shore. The land, upon which a greenhouse stands, appears to be cultivated. To the left, a pillared bookcase in front of which is a reflecting telescope. At the figure’s feet, a selection of objects of natural philosophy, including: a prism, fossils, shells, a lizard, coins, a broken stone tablet and some mathematical writings.
Frontispiece to Transactions Philosphiques de la Société Royale de Londres…translated by François de Brémond, v.1 1731-32, (1741).
Inscribed below: ‘Bouchardon In. et del. Terminé au burin par Et. Fessard’.
François de Brémond (1713-1742) French scientific translator, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1741.
Frontispiece to Transactions Philosphiques de la Société Royale de Londres…translated by François de Brémond, v.1 1731-32, (1741).
Inscribed below: ‘Bouchardon In. et del. Terminé au burin par Et. Fessard’.
François de Brémond (1713-1742) French scientific translator, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1741.
Associated place