La Bonne Aventure
Medium
engraving with etching on laid paper
Dimensions
plate (cut within platemark at right): 40.3 x 30 cm (15 7/8 x 11 13/16 in.) sheet: 47.4 x 31.8 cm (18 11/16 x 12 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Katharine Shepard Fund
Accession Number
2005.85.1
Art Historical Context
"La Bonne Aventure," created in 1738, captures the lighthearted elegance of French Rococo art through Pierre-Alexandre Aveline’s engraving after a design by François Boucher. Boucher, the era’s leading painter of graceful, playful scenes, often depicted charming moments of daily life and fantasy. The title, translating to “The Good Adventure” or “Fortune-Telling,” suggests a lively genre scene typical of the period’s fascination with youthful romance and fate. This print, executed in engraving with etching on laid paper, exemplifies the important reproductive role of eighteenth-century printm...