Poseidippus of Cassandreia, writer of comedies. Steel engraving by J.B.H. Bourgois after J.A.D. Ingres, 1808.

Date:
1808
Reference:
3167777i
Part of:
Musée français.
  • Pictures

About this work

Description

A statue of Posidippus of Cassandreia (ca. 316–ca. 250 BC), Greek comic poet of the New Comedy. He is shown "sitting at ease on a cushioned chair (klismos); he wears a chiton, a himation, and shoes, and holds a scroll in his right hand. The expression is serious and concentrated ..." (Richter, loc. cit.)

Publication/Creation

1808

Physical description

1 print : steel engraving ; platemark 43.1 x 32.1 cm

Lettering

Posidippe. Dessiné par Ingre. Gravé par J.B.H. Bourgois

References note

Jean Laran and Jean Adhémar, Inventaire du fonds français après 1800, Bibliothèque nationale, Département des estampes, vol. 3, Paris 1942, p. 293 no. 4 (three prints: "Trois pl. pour le Musée français de Laurent, t. IV (1809): … fol. 62, Posidippe, S. 1806, dess. d'Ingres. … Réimpr. des trois pl. chez Danlos, 1865-68.")
Gisela M.A. Richter, Portraits of the Greeks, vol. 2, London 1965, p. 238 ("Statue in the Galleria delle Statue, Vatican inv. 735. ... found on the Viminal ... It was first placed in the Villa Montalto, later acquired by Thomas Jenkins, and finally secured for the Vatican under Pius VI. Under Napoleon it was in Paris"). The popularity of his comedies in Rome and his influence on Roman comedy writers explains why this statue was found there
Sarah Betzer, 'Ingres's shadows', The art bulletin, 2013, 95: 78-101

Reference

Wellcome Collection 3167777i

Type/Technique

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Where to find it

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