Voltaire
1762
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 11.4 × 7.2 cm (4 1/2 × 2 7/8 in.); Sheet: 12.8 × 8.1 cm (5 1/16 × 3 1/4 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
41646
Art Historical Context
This intimate engraving by Etienne Ficquet captures the renowned French philosopher and writer Voltaire in 1762, during the height of the Enlightenment. Created as a small-scale portrait measuring just over four by two inches, the work reflects Ficquet’s specialization in finely detailed engravings that brought the likenesses of celebrated figures to a broader audience. Working on ivory laid paper, Ficquet employed precise line work to convey both the sitter’s sharp intellect and the period’s elegant style of portraiture. Engravings like this played a vital cultural role in the eighteenth cen...