Pansy with hidden silhouettes
Medium
Hand-colored etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 5 3/8 × 4 13/16 in. (13.7 × 12.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Mary Martin, 1938
Accession Number
38.145.443
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate intrigue of *Pansy with Hidden Silhouettes* (1814–24), a hand-colored etching from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection. Measuring just 5 3/8 × 4 13/16 inches, this petite print masterfully blends floral beauty with clever concealment. At first glance, it's a vibrant pansy petal, its petals hand-tinted in soft purples, greens, and yellows—a technique that brought etchings to life with personal artistry during the early 19th century, making them affordable yet enchanting for collectors. Look closer, and silhouettes of Bourbon royalty emerge: Marie...
About the Artist
Marie-Caroline de Bourbon-Sicile, duchesse de Berry|Anonymous|Charles Philippe, comte d'Artois|Charles Ferdinand Duke of Berry|Louis XVIII, King of France|Louis Antoine de Bourbon, Duc d'Angoulême (Italian| | |French|French|French) · 1798 | |1757 |1778 |1755 |1775 –1870 | |1836 |1820 |1824 |1844
| | |French, Versailles 1778–1820 Paris|French, Versailles 1755–1824 Paris|French, 1775–1844