2 Antique Prints-VERNIS-BATIMENS-MANUFACTURING-VARNISH-Diderot-Benard-1779

About this Item

2 Antique prints, titled: 'Fabricant de Vernis de Batimens.' - Plate 1-2: 'Fabricant de Vernis de Batimens, Voitures &c.' These 2 plates show the manufacturing of varnish for coating. Varnish is a transparent, hard, protective finish or film that is primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. Etching / engraving on hand laid paper. Description: This print originates from "Receuil de Planches, pour la Nouvelle Edition du Dictionnaire Raisonne", an accompanying plate volume for a quarto size Diderot / d'Alembert Encyclopedia ed., which was published in Geneva by Pellet, ca. 1779. It is based on the original 'Encyclopedie ou Dictionnaire raisonne des sciences, des arts et des metiers [.].' which was published under the direction of Diderot and d'Alembert, with 17 volumes of text and 11 volumes of plates between 1751 and 1772. It contained 72,000 articles written by more than 140 contributors. This encyclopdia was a massive reference work for the arts and sciences, as well as a means to propagate the ideas of the French Enlightment. The impact of this encyclopedia was enormous.Artists and Engravers: Made by 'Robert Benard' after 'Diderot and d'Alembert'. Robert Benard 1734 1777 was an 18th-century French engraver. Benard is mainly famous for having supplied a significant amount of plates (at least 1,800) to the Encyclopedie by Diderot & d'Alembert from 1751. Several engravers including J.A.Defehrt and Bonaventure/Benoit-Louis Prevost after J.R Lucotte or Goussier worked under his direction. Denis Diderot (1713-1784) was a French philosopher, art critic and writer. Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717-1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist and philosopher. Condition: Very good, given age. Occasional light foxing. Original middle folds. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully. Storage location: C322-33 The overall size is ca. 16.7 x 11.5 inch. The image size is ca. 13.9 x 9.6 inch. The overall size is ca. 42.5 x 29.2 cm. The image size is ca. 35.2 x 24.4 cm. Seller Inventory # 57867

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Title: 2 Antique ...