Le Cocu battu et content, 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 and engraving; second state of three (Cohen)
Dimensions
Sheet: 13 15/16 × 10 9/16 in. (35.4 × 26.9 cm) Plate: 12 3/8 × 9 3/4 in. (31.4 × 24.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1933
Accession Number
33.104.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Le Cocu battu et content**, a whimsical etching and engraving from Jean de La Fontaine's *Contes et nouvelles en* (1795), captures the playful spirit of the French fabulist's 17th-century erotic tales. Printed in Paris by the renowned Pierre Didot l'aîné during the third year of the French Republic amid revolutionary fervor, this luxury edition revived La Fontaine's cheeky narratives of love, deception, and human folly. The title, translating to "The Cuckold Beaten and Content," hints at a satirical bedroom intrigue, evoking the libertine humor that delighted 18th-century readers. Designed ...
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