La Toilette
in or after 1756
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 33.2 x 23.8 cm (13 1/16 x 9 3/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1958.8.134
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 18th France with *La Toilette*, a etching by Charles Germain de-Aubin, created in or after 1756. Saint-Aubin (1721–1786), master engraver from a prolific family of artists captured the intimate rituals of daily life in the Rococo style—characterized by its playful ornamentation, soft curves, and focus on fashionable leisure. This print, measuring 33.2 x 23.8 cm, evokes the refined domestic scenes popular among the French aristocracy during Louis XV's reign. Etching on laid paper was a favored technique of the era, where acid etches intricate lines into a metal p...