Bellone

Bellone is an engraving on wood realized by the French artist Jacques Beltrand . The following inscriptions are present: in the middle, inside the matrix “ J. Beltrand. / d’ap. Rodin ”; on the upper center, outside the matrix, printed, “ A. Rodin ”; on the lower center, outside the matrix, printed, “ Bellone / Gravure sur bois en couleurs par J. Beltrand ”. The state of preservation is very good, except for the margins of the paper that are slightly darker and some fungal foxings on the upper left margin.

This beautiful engraving refers to the homonym bronze sculpture realized by the important French Impressionist sculptor Rodin in the late 1800 as a bust of the republic and then, for the martial air characterizing it, titled Bellona , a figure of Roman mythology, goddess of war with uncertain origins, identified with the Greek goddess Ényo . Bellona was the wife or sister of Mars, but she embodied the horrors of war more than its heroic aspects.

Interesting is this inversion of the famous iconography, from bronze to engraving on wood. Beautiful is the choice of the profile that highlights the expression of the sculpture and the use of color that evokes the bronze hue, namely the color of the material of the original statue.