The Music Lesson
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.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Music Lesson
- Factory: Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory (British, 1745–1784, Gold Anchor Period, 1759–69)
- Modeler: Joseph Willems (Flemish, 1716–1766)
- Artist: After two engravings by François Boucher (French, Paris 1703–1770 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1765
- Culture: British, Chelsea
- Medium: Soft-paste porcelain
- Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 15 3/8 × 12 1/4 × 8 3/4 in., 22 lb. (39.1 × 31.1 × 22.2 cm, 10 kg)
- Classification: Ceramics-Porcelain
- Credit Line: Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964f
- Object Number: 64.101.519
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
More Artwork
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Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1762
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1762
Vincennes Manufactory
François Boucher
ca. 1752
Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory
ca. 1755
Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory
1756–60
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