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Vertue Fit to Govern the World

Vertue Fit to Govern the World
Vertue Fit to Govern the World
Vertue Fit to Govern the World
Status
Not on view
Label Text

George Washington amassed a rather large and sophisticated collection of prints during his lifetime. They included portraits of eminent persons, classical landscapes, and scenes from modern and ancient history, such as this series of five, massive line engravings detailing the triumphs of Alexander the Great. Washington likely kept these rare and expensive prints in a portfolio in his Study. It is not known when and from whom he might have acquired them.

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Date1720
After (French, 1619 - 1690)
Engraver (Dutch, 1659 - 1724)
Geography Made - Netherlands
DimensionsImage (H x W): 25 in. × 60 3/4 in. (63.5 cm × 154.31 cm) Overall (H x W): 27 3/4 in. × 62 1/4 in. (70.49 cm × 158.12 cm)
Credit LineGift of Annie Burr Jennings, Vice Regent for Connecticut, 1936
Object numberW-717/E
DescriptionThe battle of Arbella (or Gaugamela), depicting Alexander the Great charging at center, an eagle flying above him, and King Darius of Persia in a chariot at the right.
Published ReferencesJoseph Manca, George Washington's Eye: Landscape, Architecture, and Design at Mount Vernon, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012), 208, 285.

R. T. H. Halsey, "Prints Washington Lived at Mount Vernon," Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 30, (March 1935): 65.

Centennial Celebration of the Inauguration of George Washington as First President of the United States. Committee on Art and Exhibition, Catalogue of the Loan Collection of Portraits, Relics, and Silverware Exhibited at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, April 17th to May 8th, 1889, (New York: Trow's Printing and Bookbinding Company, 1889), #406, 94.
MarkingsPrinted in ink below the left portion of the image: "Vertue Fit to Govern the World / Alexander after many Victories gain'd by his Valour, defeats Darius at arbela: And having by that / Battle putt a Period to the Persian Empire, He Conquers all the East". Printed in ink below the center portion of the image: "Digna Orbis Imperii Virtus. / Post multas Victorias virtute sua partus ultimo ad Arbelam praelio Darium fugat Alexander eaque / clade fuditus euenso Persarum solio totus ORiens in potestatem Macedonici cessit imperii". Printed in ink below the right portion of the image: "La Vertu Est Digne de LEmpire du Monde. / Alexandre apres plusieurs Victoires deffit Darius dans la bataille quil pres d'Arbelle et ce dernier combat / avant acheve de renverser le throsne des Perses tout l'Orient fut soumis a la puissance des Macedoniens". Printed in ink in the bottom-right corner of the image: "D. Mortier / R. et G. Wetstein / excudunt".
Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.
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