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
Rights
Public Domain
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 printmaking. Such techniques allowed artists like Aveline to translate the soft textures and delicate lines of Boucher’s paintings into widely accessible images. Collectors and enthusiasts could enjoy refined art in their homes, spreading Rococo taste across Europe. Measuring roughly 40 by 30 centimeters in the plate, the work now resides in the National Gallery of Art’s collection thanks to the Katharine Shepard Fund. It offers today’s viewers a vivid window into the refined visual culture of pre-Revolutionary France.