The Music Lesson

Factory Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory British
 Modeler Joseph Willems Flemish
 After two engravings by François Boucher French

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 512

This large and ambitious figure group is one of the most important pieces of porcelain sculpture made at the Chelsea factory, England's premier ceramic manufactory in the mid-eighteenth century. The composition of a shepherd boy teaching a shepherdess to play the flute was derived from an engraving after a work by the French artist Francois Boucher (1703–1770). The skilled porcelain modeler at Chelsea, Joseph Willems (1716–1766), was responsible for realizing the composition in three dimensions.

The Music Lesson, Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (British, 1745–1784, Gold Anchor Period, 1759–69), Soft-paste porcelain, British, Chelsea

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The Music Lesson, Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (British, 1745–1784, Gold Anchor Period, 1759–69), Soft-paste porcelain, British, Chelsea
The Music Lesson, Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (British, 1745–1784, Gold Anchor Period, 1759–69), Soft-paste porcelain, British, Chelsea
The Music Lesson, Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (British, 1745–1784, Gold Anchor Period, 1759–69), Soft-paste porcelain, British, Chelsea
The Music Lesson, Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (British, 1745–1784, Gold Anchor Period, 1759–69), Soft-paste porcelain, British, Chelsea

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