Bundled Firewood Seller

Art Historical Context

In the bustling streets of 1746 Paris, *Bundled Firewood Seller* captures the everyday grit and grace of urban life through a collaborative print by three luminaries of French art: sculptor and draftsman Edme Bouch, antiquarian engraver Anne-Claude-Philippe Tubières, comte de Caylus, and engraver François Joull. Bouchardon, renowned for his neoclassical precision and studies of ordinary folk, likely provided the original design, whilelus and Joullain it into an etching augmented with engraving. This medium allowed for delicate, fluid lines in the etching—ideal for capturing textures like bundled wood and flowing fabrics—combined with the sharper definition of engraving for intricate details. The image centers on a resilient female vendor, her load of firewood strapped to her back, embodying the working women who fueled the city's hearths amid the Rococo era's fascination with genre scenes. Such prints democratized art, making scenes of humble labor accessible beyond elite salons, reflecting Enlightenment interest in the "common man" (and woman). Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, this 9 7/16 x 7 5/16-inch sheet (acquired via the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1953) showcases 18th-century printmaking's technical prowess, bridging sculpture's realism with the intimacy of paper. A poignant reminder of labor's quiet heroism.

About the Artist

Edme Bouchardon|Anne Claude Philippe de Tubières, comte de Caylus|François Joullain · 1698–1762

Born 29 May 1698; died 27 July 1762. Bouchardon was a student of Guillaume Coustou, and won the prix de Rome in 1722. He spent ten years (1722-1732) in Rome, Italy working on various projects for Pope Clement XII. In 1732 Bouchardon was recalled to Paris and named sculptor to the king. Bouchardon became a professor at the Académie Royale in 1746. He worked on an equestrian monument of Louis XV, Ki...