Design: Proportions of the Medici Venus, from Encyclopédie 1762 - 1777

Benoit Louis Prevost made this print, 'Design: Proportions of the Medici Venus', in France as part of the broader Enlightenment project of cataloging all human knowledge. This image comes from the *Encyclopédie*, a hugely ambitious undertaking conceived by the philosopher Denis Diderot, a project that aimed to classify and explain everything from philosophy to manufacturing. The *Encyclopédie* was intended to be a self-consciously progressive work, one that would serve as a tool for social and political reform. Here, Prevost lays out the proportional relationships of a famous sculpture, the Medici Venus, using a rational system of measurement. Although the *Encyclopédie* was a secular project, images such as these reflect the period's broader preoccupation with ideal forms, beauty and order. Historians study the *Encyclopédie* to understand the values of the Enlightenment and its effect on institutions like the museum and the art academy. Through this, we can understand the role that art plays in society.