Le Bal Paré

Art Historical Context

**Le Bal Paré (The Fancy Ball), 1774** Step into the opulent whirl of 18th-century high society with *Le Bal Paré*, a captivating etching and engraving by Antoine Duclos, after whom the design is attributed, and masterfully executed by engraver Augustin de Saint-A. This print vividly captures a masquerade ball alive with elegantly dressed men and women mid-dance, their flowing gowns and powdered wigs evoking the gaiety of aristocratic gatherings on the eve of the French. Measuring about 13 by 17 inches on its sheet, the work's intricate details showcase the Rococo flair for playful, decorative scenes of leisure and romance. Etching and engraving were prized techniques in the 1770s for their precision, allowing artists like Saint-Aubin—renowned for reproducing paintings—to disseminate luxurious imagery to a broader audience beyond the elite. Duclos, a specialist in *genre* scenes, infused the composition with lively movement and social commentary on the era's extravagance. Printed on a grand scale for the time, it reflects the cultural obsession with *bal paré* events, where masked revelry blurred class lines in Versailles-era salons. Generously bequeathed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Mrs. Charles Wrightsman in 2019, this print from the Drawings and Prints department offers a window into pre-Revolutionary frivolity—a fleeting elegance soon swept away by history.