Thursday, June 18, 2015

Royal Academician

Joseph-Marie Vien
Title page to a collection of designs for vases "after the antique"
etched by the artist's wife, Marie-Therese Rebout
1760

Joseph-Marie Vien (1716-1809) possessed a flawless instinct for the visual preferences of the more privileged segments of Parisian society under Louis XV. Praised by all (including Diderot) Vien became a powerful member of the Royal Academy, successfully maintaining his status throughout the Revolution and well into the age of Napoleon. Etchings below were published by Vien in 1748 (fifty years in advance of Napoleon's fame) to celebrate the mid-century upmarket fad for "Turkish" costume.

Chief Eunuch

Grand Vizier

Pasha

Sultana

Below, additional prints and drawings by Joseph-Marie Vien, preserved today at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Joseph-Marie Vien
Roman Colosseum
drawing
1740s

Joseph-Marie Vien
Allegory of the Arts
drawing
1796

Joseph-Marie Vien
The Arrival of the Wine Vat
drawing
c. 1755

Joseph-Marie Vien
The Arrival of the Wine Vat
etching
c. 1755