Allegory of Sciences and Arts — Encyclopédie

A hand-coloured engraving after Cochin's celebrated frontispiece to the Encyclopédie, personifying Truth unveiled by Reason and Philosophy.

Original French title: Frontispice de l'Encyclopédie. Designed by Charles-Nicolas Cochin the Younger; engraved by Benoît-Louis Prévost. From Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Published in Paris, 1764.

Cochin's frontispiece is one of the most iconic images of the French Enlightenment: Truth radiates at the summit as Reason and Philosophy draw back her veil, surrounded by the arts and sciences. Delivered after years of delay, it became the visual emblem of Diderot and d'Alembert's vast intellectual project.

Hand-coloured copperplate engraving. Sheet size approximately 45.7 × 33.7 cm. Very Good.