Fragments of an incomplete cartoon for cotton printing: La Course au Sanglier
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Bridget Mahon
Accession Number
1898-21-5-a
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Claude-Louis Desrais’s “Fragments of an incomplete cartoon for cotton printing: La Course au Sanglier” offers a fascinating glimpse into the creative process behind 18th-century textile design. Created in1785 by the French artist, this drawing served as a preparatory cartoon—essentially a full-scale pattern—for printing on cotton fabric. The title, translating to “The Boar Chase,” suggests a dynamic hunting scene, a popular decorative motif that would have appealed to contemporary tastes for lively, narrative imagery on clothing and furnishings. As a work classified simply as a drawing, it un...