Plate from Livre de Scènes Comiques
1729/32
Medium
Etching on paper
Dimensions
Image: 16.5 × 21.5 cm (6 1/2 × 8 1/2 in.); Plate: 19 × 22.5 cm (7 1/2 × 8 7/8 in.); Sheet: 23.5 × 31.5 cm (9 5/16 × 12 7/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
128600
Art Historical Context
Gabriel Huquier's *Plate from Livre de Scènes Comiques*, created between 1729 and 1732, captures the playful spirit of early Rococo art in France. As a prominent Parisian printmaker and dealer, Huquier specialized in reproductive etchings that popularized the whimsical designs of contemporaries like Antoine Watteau. This etching on paper, measuring 16.5 × 21.5 cm in its image area, is one plate from a series depicting lighthearted, everyday comedic scenes—likely bustling domestic or social vignettes filled with exaggerated gestures and charm. Etching allowed Huquier to achieve fluid, expressi...