Le Péché Partagé, plate 1 from "The Decameron"

Art Historical Context

This etching, titled *Le Péché Partagé* (The Shared Sin), serves as the first plate in an illustrated edition of Giovanni Boccaccio’s *The Decameron*. Created by the French printmaker Léopold Flameng in 1873, the work captures a moment from Boccaccio’s 14th-century collection of one hundred tales, framed by ten young Florentines who retreat to the countryside to escape the Black Death. Flameng’s interpretation brings fresh visual life to these enduring stories of wit, love, and human folly for 19th-century audiences. Executed as an etching—a technique prized for its ability to render delicate lines and subtle tonal effects—this proof before letter represents an early stage in the printing process, before titles or text were added to the plate. Such impressions were often reserved for artists and collectors, highlighting the intimate, handcrafted quality of the medium. The sheet’s modest scale invites close looking, rewarding viewers with the fine details that distinguish etchings from other reproductive methods of the period. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, the work connects Boccaccio’s Renaissance storytelling tradition with the refined printmaking culture of nineteenth-century France. It reminds us how classic literary narratives continued to inspire new generations of artists and audiences through the reproducible art of etching.

About the Artist

Giovanni Boccaccio|Léopold Flameng (French|Italian) · 1831 |1313 –1911 |1375

French (born Belgium), Brussels 1831–1911 Paris|Italian, Paris 1313–1375 Certaldo, Tuscany