Allegorie ter ere van de geboorte van de hertog van Bourgandië

About this artwork

verzamelaarsmerk, verso midden onder, gestempeld: Lugt 2760

Art Historical Context

Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin created this delicate etching in 1751 as an allegorical tribute to the birth of the Duke of Burgundy. Working in mid-eighteenth-century France, Saint-Aubin was celebrated for his expressive printmaking, often capturing courtly events and public celebrations with detail. The small scale—measuring just 169 by 129 millimeters—suggests the work was designed for intimate viewing or inclusion in personal albums rather than large-scale display. Etching allowed Saint-Aubin to combine symbolic figures with fine linear work, a technique well suited to conveying both grandeur and nuance in commemorative subjects. Such prints played an important role in circulating news of royal births across Europe, blending mythology, heraldry, and contemporary portraiture to honor dynastic continuity. The presence of the Lugt 2760 collector’s mark on the reverse indicates the sheet later passed through distinguished hands, underscoring its enduring appeal to print connoisseurs.

About the Artist

Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin · 1724–1780

Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin (14 April 1724 – 14 February 1780) was born in Paris into an artistic family — one of fourteen children of the court embroiderer and engraver G.-G. de Saint-Aubin. Art ran deep in the family: his brothers Charles Germain and Augustin de Saint-Aubin were also accomplished artists. Gabriel received his earliest training at home before entering the studios of Étienne Je...