Development de bordures du Portrait du Roy, Cartouche aux armes du roi..., 4th plate, pl. 38 in Oeuvre de Juste-Aurele Meissonnier
Medium
ornament
Classification
ornament
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-212-13-a
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695–1750), a visionary Franco-Italian designer born in and active in Paris, was a master of the exuberant Rococo style. 1748 engraving, the fourth plate (pl. 38) from his influential *Oeuvre de Juste-Aurèleissonnier*, titled *Développement de bordures du du Roy, Cartouche armes du roi...*, his genius for ornamental design. Created late in his career, it features intricate border developments and a royal cartouche—likely intended to frame a portrait of King Louis XV—bursting with scrolling foliage, asymmetrical motifs, and playful flourishes typical of Rococo's whimsi...