Design for a Box-Lid
18th century
Medium
Pen and black ink and black chalk underdrawing
Dimensions
4 5/8 x 3 1/16 in. (11.7 x 7.8 cm.)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1944
Accession Number
44.54.39
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of 18th French rococo design with *Design for a Box-Lid* by Hubert François Gravelot, a masterful illustrator and engraver who bridged the vibrant artistic scenes of Paris and London. Created during the height of the Rococo era—a period celebrating playful elegance, curving forms, and intimate pleasures—this preparatory drawing captures Gravelot's skill in crafting decorative motifs for luxury objects. Likely intended for a small snuffbox or vanity case lid, its diminutive size (just 4 5/8 x 3 1/16 inches) reflects the era's demand for exquisite, portable finery amo...
About the Artist
Hubert François Gravelot
Hubert-François Bourguignon, known as Gravelot (1699–1773), was a leading French Rococo engraver, illustrator, and designer whose elegant draftsmanship bridged the artistic worlds of France and England. Born in Paris to a tailor, he adopted his pseudonym from a godfather and grew up alongside his elder brother, the geographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville. After neglecting studies at the Col...