La Brouette (The Bath Chair) from Premier Essai de Papilloneries Humaines
Butterflies masquerade as bath-chair attendants in this delicate vignette designed and etched by Saint-Aubin. A leading eighteenth-century designer of fabric and embroidery patterns, the artist also produced two sets of prints in which insects assume human roles. Intended as witty satires, their tone derives from the recently coined French verb papillonner, which means to act in a lighthearted or impulsive way.
Artwork Details
- Title: La Brouette (The Bath Chair) from Premier Essai de Papilloneries Humaines
- Artist: Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin (French, Paris 1721–1786 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1748
- Medium: Etching
- Dimensions: image: 7 1/16 x 10 9/16 in. (18 x 26.9 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1982
- Object Number: 1982.1095
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Multiple artists/makers
n.d. [before 1770]
Multiple artists/makers
18th century
Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin
ca.1750–80
Multiple artists/makers
mid-18th century
Charles Germain de Saint-Aubin
ca. 1756–60
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