BILLARD (Félix Arsène) - Lot 7

BILLARD (Félix Arsène) Félix Arsène Billard Reunion of two engraved portraits of Monseigneur Félix Arsène Billard, bishop of Carcassonne. The first portrait, of more modest dimensions, shows the prelate in bust form in an allegorical frame evoking the Church and Christian scholarship, with a view of the episcopal city in the background. The second, larger and more accomplished, bears the printed legend: "S. G. Monseigneur Billard, évêque de Carcassonne". It is a 19th-century woodcut based on a drawing by Chevalier. Interesting decorative and documentary set relating to the Carcassonne episcopate in the second half of the 19th century. These portraits bear witness to the religious iconography of the Second Empire and early Third Republic. Good overall condition; some foxing and light handling marks.