Artist: Charles Nicolas Cochin fils (France, 1715 - 1790). To distinguish him from his father of the same name, he is called Charles-Nicolas Cochin le Jeune, Charles-Nicolas Cochin le fils, or Charles-Nicolas Cochin II.
Engraver: Gilles Demarteau or Gilles Demarteau the Elder (1722 - 1776) was an etcher, engraver, and publisher who was active in Paris for his entire career. He is one of the persons to whom has been attributed the invention of the crayon manner of engraving.
Title: Licurgue blessé dans une sédition (Licurgue wounded in a sedition).
Inscribed in plate: C. N. Cochin filius inv. et delin. 1760; Gravé par Demarteau l'Aîné [pour sa Réception à l'Académie en 1769 - erased]; Licurgue blessé dans une sédition. Quotation from Plutarque Vie de Licurgus. Traduic. on d Amyot: "Il fit une ordonnance par laquelle il voulut... que les Spartiates.. mangeassent ensemble des mêmes Viandes..."
Dimensions: Platemark 12 3/8" x 16". Sheet 13 1/4" x 16 7/8".
Date: 1769.
Materials and Techniques: Engraving, crayon-manner, printed in sepia on laid paper.
Watermark: yes.
Mat and Frame: no.
Provenance: The Estate of George "Yorgo" Demetrakopoulos; professor, assistant director of the Medieval Institute, and assistant to the dean at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, from 1965-2000.
Condition: Trimmed margins, foxing, tanned, dirt, mold. The signs of aging are appropriate for the time. A detailed condition report is available on demand.
Catalog Raisonne: L'oeuvre de Gilles DeMarteau l'aine graveur du Roi
by Leymarie, L. de. Paris, 1896. p. 48. 142 bis. Lycurgue blessé dans une sédition, — C.-N. Cochin.
Museums and Libraries: The British Museum 2011,7059.13.
Art Movements, Periods & Schools: French School XVIII C.
Note: This entry incorporates text from the catalog entry and uses the catalog description of the same item from the collection of the British Museum.
Demarteau considered this plate his masterpiece. The prints were sold for 12 livres each, much higher than the average Demarteau print (a Boucher reproduction cost about three livres).