The Fabulist Truth (La Vérité Fabuliste) 1720 - 1771

"The Fabulist Truth" (La Vérité Fabuliste), an engraving by French artist Laurent Cars (1699-1771), depicts a female figure, likely representing Truth, standing on a cloud with a flowing robe and a scepter. The figure's calm expression and the serene background of clouds suggest the tranquility and clarity associated with truth. The engraving, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, showcases the Baroque style through its dramatic use of light and shadow. The work's title and inscription, "Sic temperat ignes / blanda luce micans," reinforces the idea of truth's power to temper passions and illuminate the world.