Cartouche with Bird and Putti, Plate B
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt
Accession Number
1931-94-643
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Alexis Peyrotte’s “Cartouche with Bird and Putti, Plate B” offers a charming glimpse into eighteenth-century French decorative design. Created around 1740, this print exemplifies the elegant ornamental language that flourished during the reign of Louis XV. Peyrotte, a skilled draftsman and designer, produced such works as models for artisans working in textiles, ceramics, and interior decoration. The composition centers on a fanciful cartouche—an elaborate scrolled frame—animated by playful putti and a lively bird. These motifs were immensely popular in Rococo ornament, where lightness, asymm...