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The Chinese Masquerade (La Mascarade chinoise)

Dedicatee Duc de Saint-Aignan French
1735
Not on view
One of Pierre's most accomplished etchings, this print commemorates an event that took place shortly before his arrival in Rome, when French students took part in the festivities marking the pre-Lenten celebration of Carnival. With pomp and whimsy in equal measure, the students dressed up as Chinese dignitaries and joined the procession along the Corso, passing in front of the Palazzo Mancini, the grand and centrally located quarters of the French Academy in Rome.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Chinese Masquerade (La Mascarade chinoise)
  • Artist: Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (French, Paris 1714–1789 Paris)
  • Dedicatee: Duc de Saint-Aignan (French)
  • Date: 1735
  • Medium: Etching
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 12 x 16 11/16 in. (30.5 x 42.4 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
  • Object Number: 53.600.4449
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
The Death of Harmonia, Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre  French, Oil on canvas
Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre
ca. 1740–41
Guitar, Jean-Baptiste Voboam  French, Spruce, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, ivory, ebony, French
attributed to Jean-Baptiste Voboam
1697
Nocturne: Palaces, James McNeill Whistler  American, Etching and drypoint; printed in dark brown ink on drum mounted medium weight ivory laid paper.
James McNeill Whistler
1879–80
The Seated Nymph (Une fontaine avec une naïade assise sur une conque), Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre  French, Etching
Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre
ca. 1740
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
French
late 18th or early 19th century

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