Rest in the Country

Art Historical Context

**Rest in the Country** a delicate etching and engraving by British printmaker William Wynne R after a design by François Boucher, the eminent French Rococo artist. Though the exact date is unknown, it captures idyllic charm of 18th-century pastoral life, featuring women and infants in a serene countryside repose. Measuring 13 3/16 x 9 3/8 inches, this print exemplifies how engraving allowed Boucher's lavish, playful style—marked by soft curves, lush landscapes, and tender human figures—to reach a wider audience beyond oil paintings. Ryland, a master engraver trained in France, meticulously translated Boucher's composition using etching for fluid lines and engraving for fine details, creating a shimmering effect that evokes Rococo's celebration of pleasure and nature. These reproductive prints were cultural staples in Enlightenment-era Europe, adorning homes and disseminating aristocratic tastes to the emerging middle class. Acquired through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1953, this work from The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department invites us to savor the era's escapist fantasy amid revolutionary changes.