Brandy or Cure Seller
mid to late 17th century
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 9/16 x 5 11/16 in. (21.7 x 14.5 cm) Plate: 8 3/8 x 5 9/16 in. (21.3 x 14.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1960
Accession Number
60.634.51
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the mid-to-l 17th century, printmakers Abraham Bosse Jean I Leblond on *Brandy or Seller*, a charming etching that captures the bustling commerce of everyday life. This intimate scene, measuring about 8½ by 5¾ inches, depicts a vendor hawking brandy—often touted as a "cure" for ailments—amidst bottles, tables, chairs, and figures engaged in trade. Bosse, renowned for his detailed reproductive prints and genre scenes influenced by the Baroque era, provided the design, while Leond's etching expertise brought fine lines and textures to life. Etching, a technique using acid to bite into a meta...
About the Artist
Abraham Bosse|Jean I Leblond · 1602–1676
Abraham Bosse (1604–1676) was a French printmaker and theorist whose approximately 1,600 etchings provide an unparalleled visual record of 17th-century French life. Born to Huguenot parents in Tours, he trained in Paris under Melchior Tavernier and became a devoted follower of Jacques Callot's technical innovations. Bosse's meticulous etchings depicted subjects ranging from daily life and fashion ...