These forty-two preparatory drawings, along with twenty-one by Jean Michel Moreau le Jeune (1741-1814) and forty-four by Jean-Jacques-Franc̜ois Le Barbier, the Elder (1738-1826) also in the collection, were made for the engravings illustrating volumes 1-3 of the "Ovidius Naso, Publius Les Métamorphoses...", Paris, F. Gay, 1806-1807.
All forty-two sheets are signed in pen and brown ink, "Monsiau inven."
Blumenthal, George, Mrs., former owner.
Roederer, Louis, former owner.
Ovid, 43 B.C.-17 or 18 A.D. Metamorphoses.
Denison, Cara D. French Drawings, 1550-1825. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1984, no. 121.