id:			166640
accession number:	2008.360
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.360
updated:		2023-03-22 03:04:30.070000

Althaea Putting the Fatal Log on the Fire, 1712. Bernard Picart (French, 1673–1733). Red chalk on beige laid paper, incised for transfer; sheet: 29.4 x 27.5 cm (11 9/16 x 10 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2008.360

title:				Althaea Putting the Fatal Log on the Fire
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1712
creation date earliest:		1712
creation date latest:		1712
current location:		
creditline:			Bequest of Muriel Butkin
copyright:			

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culture:	France, 18th century
technique:	Red chalk on beige laid paper, incised for transfer
department:	Drawings
collection:	Drawings
type:		Drawing
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Bernard Picart (French, 1673–1733)  - artist
Picart, born in Paris, was active in Amsterdam as an engraver, chiefly of book illustrations. (See Phillips, plate 55.)
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measurements: Sheet: 29.4 x 27.5 cm (11 9/16 x 10 13/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:

	description:	beige laid paper
	watermarks:	

inscriptions:

	inscription:	signed, lower left, in red chalk: B. Picart. del. 1712; verso, lower left, in blue crayon: 136
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin
	opening date:   2001-08-26T00:00:00
	<i>French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002).

	title:		Elegance and Intrigue: French Society in 18th-century Prints and Drawings
	opening date:   2016-07-16T04:00:00
	<i>Elegance and Intrigue: French Society in 18th-century Prints and Drawings</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 6, 2016).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
This drawing depicts a scene from the life of Meleager, a figure from Greek mythology who was prophesied to die when a log in the fireplace at the time of his birth completely burned. At that time, Meleager’s mother, Althaea, put out the log and stowed it away for safekeeping. Years later, in the scene depicted here, Althaea exacts revenge on Meleager for killing her brothers in a dispute. Two Furies, goddesses of vengeance, compel the anguished mother to punish her murderous son by burning the fatal log. Picart made this drawing while overseeing the reproduction of Le Brun’s suite of tapestries narrating tales of Meleager into prints. Picart himself made drawings from the tapestries, of which this sheet is an example. The drawings were then used as guides by printmakers Picart hired to re-create the images as engravings.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Foster, Carter E., Sylvain Bellenger, and Patrick Shaw Cable. <em>French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin</em>. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
	page number: 	Referenced: cat. no. 4, p. 18-19, Reproduced: p. 19
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.360/2008.360_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.360/2008.360_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2008.360/2008.360_full.tif