Little boy holding a basket of grapes, from 'Deuxième Livre de Figures d'après les porcelaines de la Manufacture Royale de France'
Original title: Little boy holding a basket of grapes, from "Deuxième Livre de Figures d'après les porcelaines de la Manufacture Royale de France" (Second Book of Figures after porcelains from the Manufacture Royale de France)
kurzbeschreibung
A boy carrying a basket of grapes stands on a path, placed within a landscape setting so that the figure study and the scenery around him connect. Pierre François Tardieu made this print after 1757 for the series 'Deuxième Livre de Figures d'après les porcelaines de la Manufacture Royale de France'.
Description
The boy wears a cap and a shirt with a slashed collar. In his left hand he holds something that recalls the neck of a bottle. Bushes and a tree stump line the path in the foreground, with hills rising behind under a cloudy sky. The layout has a balanced, nearly symmetrical feel, and the light falls softly from above, drawing out shadows and surfaces. The print's grey tones let the subtle gradations of figure and landscape come through.
Context
This sheet belongs to a series that reproduces porcelain figures of the Manufacture Royale de France, today's Sèvres, as printed models. The manufactory had been based at Sèvres since 1756 and received royal support. Tardieu, a French engraver, produced the prints after 1757 so that the porcelain designs could reach a wider audience. Reproductions of this kind often served other craftsmen as models or collectors as items to gather.
Impact
With the child set so centrally, the image radiates calm and balance. Careful linework and soft shadows give it an idyllic, almost pastoral mood of the kind associated with Rococo taste.
Technique
Etching combined with additional engraving allows precise linework and delicate tonal values. Textures such as the woven basket and the leaves can thus be rendered in detail in monochrome greys.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)