Moreau le Jeune / Tardieu / Pourbus - Voltaire – La Henriade – Suite complète de 11 gravures - 1782-1783

Beautiful and rare complete suite of engravings illustrating La Henriade by Voltaire, including the portrait of Henry IV as well as the ten compositions corresponding to the ten cantos of the poem.
The ten scenes were drawn by Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune (1741-1814), one of the leading French draftspersons and illustrators of the second half of the 18th century, and then engraved by several prominent artists, among whom Masquelier, Delignon, Dambrun, Patas, Guttenberg, Helman, Simonet, Duclos and Romanet.
The set is completed by the portrait of Henry IV, engraved by Pierre-Alexandre Tardieu after Frans Pourbus the Younger, dated 1783.
The engravings are intaglio, with their marked sunk line, and are on large sheets with generous margins. The scenes are accompanied by verses excerpted from La Henriade, as well as the names of the draughtsman and the engraver.
The suite corresponds to the iconographic cycle designed for the great illustrated edition of La Henriade published at the end of the 18th century. The ten narrative scenes are dated 1782, while the portrait of Henry IV is dated 1783.
Condition summary:
• 1 portrait of Henry IV, engraved by Tardieu after Pourbus
• 10 plates illustrating the ten cantos of La Henriade, after Moreau le Jeune
State of preservation
Good overall condition for 18th-century engravings.
The sheets retain wide margins and the sunk lines are clearly visible. There are light signs of aging, small creases, minor marginal tears, foxing or occasional stains and a few border irregularities. The images themselves are well preserved, with a clean and contrasted impression.
Please carefully examine the photographs, which are an integral part of the description.
Technique
Engravings in dry-point/etching on handmade wove paper.
Dimensions
Large format in-4°.
Dimensions vary by sheet. The sheets are preserved with wide margins.
Era
1782-1783.
Author / principal illustrator
Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune.
Engravers
Louis-Joseph Masquelier, Jean-Louis Delignon, Jean Dambrun, Charles-Emmanuel Patas, Heinrich Guttenberg, Isidore-Stanislas Helman, Jean-Baptiste Simonet, Antoine-Jean Duclos, Antoine-Louis Romanet, as well as Pierre-Alexandre Tardieu for the portrait of Henry IV.
provenance

Shipping
Carefully shipped flat, between rigid supports, with tracking and appropriate protection.