Le Singe et le chat
Medium
Etching; fifth state of five
Dimensions
Sheet: 16 7/8 × 11 3/8 in. (42.9 × 28.9 cm) Plate: 15 1/4 × 10 9/16 in. (38.7 × 26.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1963
Accession Number
63.625.16(1)
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Le Singe et le Chat (The Monkey and the), an etching from 1886, to life a whimsical scene from Jean de La Fontaine's renowned 17th-century fables. Created by master etcher Félix Bracquem, possibly after a design by Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, published by the prominent art firm Boussod, Valadon & Co., this fifth and final state exemplifies the collaborative spirit of late 19-century French printmaking. The intimate interior setting features a clever monkey and unsuspecting cat, evoking the fable's moral about cunning exploitation—where the monkey persuades the cat to retrieve roasting c...
About the Artist
Félix Bracquemond|Gustave Moreau|Jean de La Fontaine|Boussod, Valadon and Co.|Boussod, Valadon & Co. · 1833–1914
French, Paris 1833–1914 Sèvres