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Design for a Wall Elevation

Former Attribution Juste Nathan Boucher French
ca. 1770–80
Not on view
This detailed wall design by the artist Étienne de Lavallée-Poussin is a very beautiful example of how elements from Classical Antiquity were adapted to fit a modern-day 18th-century interior. The overall scheme of his design – a fireplace in the center, combined with painted wall panels and the torchères - goes back to 17th-century French examples, but the individual parts are all attuned to the latest taste for neoclassical design. He combines stern architectural elements with a light sculptural relief and playful decorations to form a very original scheme. Several mythological themes are introduced in the décor. The wall panels portray the Venus and Adonis (left) and Diana, goddess of the hunt (right), while in the sculptural details we find Leda and the Swan and Venus and Cupid. The partially applied washes indicate that many elements were to be gilded. The artist also added an alternate view for the fireplace with the hearth opened up, a detail which has unfortunately been lost, but can be deduced from the abraded strip on the bottom of the sheet where the addition was originally attached.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Design for a Wall Elevation
  • Artist: Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin (French, Rouen 1733–1793 Paris)
  • Former Attribution: Juste Nathan Boucher (French 1736–1782)
  • Date: ca. 1770–80
  • Medium: Pen and black ink with brush and gray, brown, green, and blue washes over graphite underdrawing
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 7 3/4 × 10 1/4 in. (19.7 × 26.1 cm)
  • Classifications: Drawings, Ornament & Architecture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1971
  • Object Number: 1971.513.54
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Portrait of Marguerite Le Comte, Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin French, Black chalk, pen and brown ink, brush and brown and gray wash
Portrait of Marguerite Le Comte
Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin
1764
Female Saint in a Landscape, Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin French, Etching
Female Saint in a Landscape
Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin
18th century
Designs for Two Urns, Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin French, Pen and black ink with brush and brown wash over graphite underdrawing
Designs for Two Urns
Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin
Half Lunette with Putto and Monster, Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin French, Pen and brown wash
Half Lunette with Putto and Monster
Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin
18th century
Nouvelle Collection d'Arabesques, Etienne de Lavallée-Poussin French, Etching, hand-colored
Nouvelle Collection d'Arabesques
Multiple artists/makers
[before 1790]

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