The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

The Optical Viewer

The Optical Viewer

c. 1793–1795?
(French, active 1793–1843)
(French, 1761–1845)
Sheet: 72 x 53.9 cm (28 3/8 x 21 1/4 in.); Platemark: 67.5 x 53.3 cm (26 9/16 x 21 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Inventaire du Fonds Français 4.156.4; Por.& Ber. I (part I) p. 346; Bréton & Zuber 1804E II/II
Location: not on view

Description

Based on a portrait painted in 1793,The Optical Viewer depicts Antoine Danton with his stepmother Sébastienne-Louis Gély, recently wed to Revolutionary leader Georges-Jacques Danton. They browse through a stack of large prints using a novelty device that reflects and magnifies the images, possibly as a fun way to enhance their sense of depth perception.
  • Elegance and Intrigue: French Society in 18th-century Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 6, 2016).
    Inventive Impressions: 18th- and 19-Century French Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001).
  • {{cite web|title=The Optical Viewer|url=false|author=Frédéric Cazenave, Louis Léopold Boilly|year=c. 1793–1795?|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2001.15