GATTEAUX, AFTER NICOLAS MARIE | [Trompe l'oeil of paper money and other printed financial ephemera]. Ca.: 1792

GATTEAUX, AFTER NICOLAS MARIE

[Trompe l'oeil of paper money and other printed financial ephemera]. Ca.: 1792

Engraving (sheet size: 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.), colored by hand, by Tardieu, after Gatteaux. 

Gatteaux was a sculptor and medallist; among his accomplishments was the invention of a machine for duplicating sculpture. He also designed and engraved paper money, lottery tickets, tax stamps and other official and legal paper, of the sort represented here, which may be examples of his work. Included are paper currency of various issues during the early years of the Republic, centered on an amusing engraving of a beggar, a symbolic warning to those who would put their trust in such ephemeral guarantors of wealth.

The engraver could be any of several members of the Tardieu family, which spread over three generations of French 18th-century printmaking and were active in all areas of the industry. The most likely options are: Jean Baptiste Tardieu, Jean Baptiste Pierre Tardieu, or Pierre Alexandre Tardieu.