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Design for a Torchère

ca. 1770–90
Not on view
This design for a torchère was made by the artist Le Barbier. He is best known for his paintings and illustrations which reflect the political unrest and revolutions in North America and Europe during the final decades of the 18th century. One of his most famous works is without doubt the panel with the Declaration of the rights of men and citizens as it had been decreed by the Assemblée Nationale in 1789 and agreed to by King Louis XVI (Musée Carnavalet, Paris). Like many of his French colleagues Le Barbier was active in various art disciplines however, and he produced multiple designs for the interior, including this elegant design for a torchère. The idea of having human figures - women, cherubs or exotic figures such as Indians or Africans - as a support, holding up a candle or base on top of which a candelabrum could stand, had become particularly popular in the 18th century. Smaller examples were often executed in (partially) gilt bronze while larger pieces could be made in polychrome wood, marble or gesso.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Design for a Torchère
  • Artist: Jean Jacques François Le Barbier (French, Rouen 1738–1826 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1770–90
  • Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash; framing lines in pen and brown ink with brush and green wash
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 18 1/2 × 12 3/16 in. (47 × 31 cm)
  • Classifications: Drawings, Ornament & Architecture
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1986
  • Object Number: 1986.1007.2
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Sully at the Feet of Henri IV from a set of The History of France, Jean Jacques François Le Barbier French, Wool, silk (22-23 warps per inch, 9-10 per cm.), French, Paris
Sully at the Feet of Henri IV from a set of The History of France
Multiple artists/makers
1788–92
Five-fold screen, Jean Jacques François Le Barbier French, Panels: oil and canvas; frame: gilt wood; lining: silk taffeta, French
Five-fold screen
Jean Jacques François Le Barbier
panels ca. 1790, frame 19th century
The End of the Python, from Les Metamorphoses d'Ovide, Traduction nouvelle Avec le texte latin, suivie d'une analyse de l'explication des Fables, de notes géographiques, historiques, mythologiques et critiques, Par M.G.T. Villenave; ornée de gravures d'après les dessins de MM. LeBarbier, Monsiau et Moreau. A Paris, Chez les Éditeurs, F. Gay Libraire, rue de la Harpe, Bureau de la Bible; Ch. Guestard, Avocat, rue Saint Germain-l'Auxerrois. De l'Imprimerie de P. Didot l'aîné. MDCCCVI.
Multiple artists/makers
1805
The End of the Python, from Les Metamorphoses d'Ovide, Traduction nouvelle Avec le texte latin, suivie d'une analyse de l'explication des Fables, de notes géographiques, historiques, mythologiques et critiques, Par M.G.T. Villenave; ornée de gravures d'après les dessins de MM. LeBarbier, Monsiau et Moreau. A Paris, Chez les Éditeurs, F. Gay Libraire, rue de la Harpe, Bureau de la Bible; Ch. Guestard, Avocat, rue Saint Germain-l'Auxerrois. De l'Imprimerie de P. Didot l'aîné. MDCCCVI.
Multiple artists/makers
1805
Bacchanal, Jean Jacques François Le Barbier French, Black chalk, pen and brown ink, brush and brown and gray wash with touches of watercolor
Bacchanal
Jean Jacques François Le Barbier
ca. 1765–66

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