Ambroise Tardieu Collection

Portrait of Jean-Baptiste-Pierre-Antoine de Monet de Lamarck (1744-1829)
DGA2581464 Portrait of Jean-Baptiste-Pierre-Antoine de Monet de Lamarck (1744-1829), French naturalist, engraving by Ambroise Tardieu (1788-1841), France

Chinese chain-pump
DGA3938370 Chinese chain-pump; Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy; (add.info.: Chinese chain-pump)

Chinese bronze censer
DGA3938365 Chinese bronze censer; Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy; (add.info.: Chinese bronze censer)

Column with inscriptions resting upon the back of animal, Chinese monument
DGA3938364 Column with inscriptions resting upon the back of animal, Chinese monument; Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan

Purse and sceptre, China
DGA3938360 Purse and sceptre, China; Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy; (add.info.: Purse and sceptre, China)

Chinese bridge
DGA3938355 Chinese bridge; Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy; (add.info.: Chinese bridge)

Wax-producing insect discovered upon shrub at Da Nang (Turon), Vietnam (Cochinchina)
DGA3938347 Wax-producing insect discovered upon shrub at Da Nang (Turon), Vietnam (Cochinchina); Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan

Magnetic compass, China
DGA3938350 Magnetic compass, China; Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo Da Vinci, Milan, Italy; (add.info.: Magnetic compass, China)

Portrait of Thales of Miletus by Ambrose Tardieu
Thales of Miletus(638-548 B.C.). Engraving by A. Tardieu from sculpture found at Tivoli

Chained insane at Bedlam, illustration from Des Maladies Mentales considerees sous le rapport medical
CHT280167 Chained insane at Bedlam, illustration from Des Maladies Mentales considerees sous le rapport medical, hygienique et medico-legal by Etienne Esquirol (1772-1840) plate XXV

All products are expertly crafted, using premium materials, tailored to your specifications and promptly shipped

EDITORS COMMENTS

Ambroise Tardieu: Chronicling the Dark Side of History Ambroise Tardieu's intricately detailed drawings and engravings offer a haunting glimpse into the tumultuous history of the early Middle Ages. From the tragic tale of Queen Brunhilda of Austrasia, a Visigothic princess married to King Sigebert I, who met her end at the hands of Clotaire II after being imprisoned by his sister Brunehaut, to the assassination of Etienne Marcel, a rich drapier and Prevot des marchands in Paris during the Hundred Years War. The dark chapters of history continue with the murder of Childebert I's brothers' heirs, ordered by Clotaire, and the grisly fate of Lord Bodillon, a Burgundian nobleman, who was whipped for complaining about Childeric II's tax increase. Ambroise Tardieu's works also capture the religious processions of the time, such as Chilperic I's entry into Paris following the murder of Sigebert, as well as the coronation of Charles X in Reims in 1825. But the darkness is not only found in the political realm. Tardieu's engravings also depict the mental illnesses of the time, as seen in the illustration from Des Maladies Mentales considerees sous le rapport medical, hygienique et medico-legal by Etienne Esquirol. Even the enigmatic figure of Paracelsus, the Swiss alchemist, is not spared from Tardieu's meticulous gaze. Through his art, Ambroise Tardieu invites us to bear witness to the complexities and contradictions of the past, both its triumphs and its tragedies.