La colere de Neptune 1767

This etching, "La Colere de Neptune" or "The Anger of Neptune," was made by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin in Paris in 1767. Saint-Aubin has represented a bronze sculpture of Neptune in his characteristic energetic and informal style. Saint-Aubin was well-known for depicting the art world of his time and his work provides invaluable insight into the social and cultural institutions that shaped artistic taste and production in eighteenth-century Paris. He frequently represented exhibition spaces like the Salon, capturing the crowds, the arrangement of artworks, and the overall atmosphere of these events. Saint-Aubin also documented the auction houses. Looking at this print, we might ask how the cultural obsession with classical antiquity was encouraged by institutions such as the French Royal Academy. To understand this further, we can look to auction catalogs, Salon reviews, and other documents that bring this historical world to life.