Sultana at Her Toilet
Original title: Sultana at Her Toilet
kurzbeschreibung
A boudoir scene with an Oriental flavour: Claude Augustin Duflos le Jeune etched and engraved 'Sultana at Her Toilet' in 1746–47 after an invention by François Boucher. The horizontal print is executed as an etching with burin work.
Description
In the foreground a woman sits half-undressed, her legs apart, holding a cloth before her. A second woman drapes a cloth over her shoulder while a child sits on the floor watching. Behind them a door opens and another person enters; a window lets in daylight. The figures line up horizontally, and the view remains in black and white.
Context
The model was François Boucher, as the signature 'F. Boucher inv.' indicates. Duflos le Jeune, an eighteenth-century French copperplate engraver, was known for reproductions after Boucher. The sultana motif belongs to the Turquerie, a fashion widespread in Rococo France.
Impact
The horizontal row of figures gives the layout calm and balance. Delicate lines and the light falling through the window create an intimate, almost voyeuristic mood.
Technique
The print is an etching, subsequently reworked with the burin. This method allows fine hatching and soft shadows that make poses and fabrics stand out plastically.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)