Charles-Nicolas Cochin

Description

Our drawings are preparatory for two illustrations published of the Almanac Iconologique. These small books, published annually between 1765 and 1781, include suites of allegorical figures devoted to an iconographic theme, such as the Arts, Sciences, Muses or Months, accompanied by notes explaining the details and symbols attached to each image. Hubert François Gravelot was at the origin of this idea and published each of the almanacs from 1765 until his death in 1773. At this date, Nicolas Cochin took over the project and provided the ninety-eight illustrations necessary for the publication of the last eight almanacs. He asked his friend Charles-Étienne Gaucher to write the explanatory notes. In 1796, Cochin published all the almanacs in a work entitled Iconologie – Traité de la science des allégories.