View of Part of the Pathway of the Giants of Vals in Vivarais

Prints and Drawings

c. 1778

Arnault Éloi Gautier D’Agoty
French, 1741-1780 or 1783

Printmaker Arnault Éloi Gautier D’Agoty traveled with renowned geologist Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond on an expedition to the mountainous regions of Vivarais and Velay in south-central France. It was here that Faujas developed a theory on the origin of volcanoes, which was the subject of his seminal publication Research on the Extinct Volcanoes of Vivarais and Velay.Gautier D’Agoty’s richly detailed landscape, drawn from life under the geologist’s supervision, illustrates interlocking basalt columns, a volcanic rock whose hexagonal shape and vertical dimension are formed during the cooling process. The figure writing near the edge of the river may be Faujas recording his observations.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Arnauld Éloi Gautier d'Agoty
Title: View of Part of the Pathway of the Giants of Vals in Vivarais
Place: France (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1777–1778
Medium: Etching and stipple engraving in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions: Plate: 32.3 × 45.8 cm (12 3/4 × 18 1/16 in.); Sheet: 34.9 × 48.3 cm (13 3/4 × 19 1/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection
Reference Number: 2013.541
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