The Muse Erato, from "Gazette des Beaux-Arts"
Original title: The Muse Erato, from "Gazette des Beaux-Arts"
kurzbeschreibung
Albert Ardail's 1890 etching reproduces François Boucher's painting of the Muse Erato. At the centre sits the Muse holding a hand mirror, while a putto surrounds her with flowers. The print was published in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts.
Description
Erato occupies the middle of the sheet, her face reflected in the hand mirror she holds. Flowers adorn her hair, and a long garment slips from one shoulder. A putto wearing a floral wreath sits beside her and offers blossoms. Faint, loose lines suggest clouds behind the figures. Everything stays monochrome, with hatching building the light and shade.
Context
Made in 1890 as a reproduction of a Boucher painting, the print pays tribute to a leading master of the French Rococo. The Gazette des Beaux-Arts, an influential nineteenth-century art journal, took it into its pages. Ardail was known for graphic work of this kind. The figure of Erato, muse of lyric poetry, points to a favourite Rococo subject.
Impact
Delicate hatching and slender lines give the sheet an elegant, playful mood. Though monochrome, it keeps a lively quality and carries the lightness of the Rococo. The mirror and the flowers lend it an intimate, thoughtful note.
Technique
For this etching the drawing was bitten into a metal plate. Fine lines and hatching allow a precise rendering of light and shadow. The plate measures 17.1 × 23 cm, and the image is printed on a larger support sheet.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)