La Matrone d'Ephese, from "Contes et nouvelles en vers par Jean de La Fontaine. A Paris, de l'imprimerie de P. Didot, l'an III de la République, 1795"
Medium
Etching; first state of three (Cohen)
Dimensions
Sheet: 13 9/16 × 9 11/16 in. (34.4 × 24.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1933
Accession Number
33.104.15
Tags
Art Historical Context
**La Matrone d'Éphèse** is a captivating etching from Jean de La Fontaine's *Contes et nouvelles en vers*, a collection of witty, often risqué tales published in Paris by Pierre Didot l'aîné in 1795 (Year III of the French Republic). Dated 1793, this-state impression illustrates La Fontaine's retelling of a classical anecdote: a grieving widow (matrone) at the tomb of Ephesus is consoled—and seduced—by a vigilant soldier, depicted here with spears, tombs, and expressive figures. The scene blends pathos and playful eroticism, hallmarks of La Fontaine's moral fables inspired by ancient sources l...
About the Artist
Jean de La Fontaine|Jean Honoré Fragonard|Jean-Louis Delignon|Pierre Didot l'ainé (French|French|French) · 1621 |1750 | –1695 |1780 |
French, Château-Thierry 1621–1695 Paris|active ca. 1750 (?)–1780|Paris