Return from the Christening
1633
Medium
Etching; first state of two
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 5/8 × 14 15/16 in. (29.5 × 37.9 cm) Plate: 10 7/16 × 13 7/16 in. (26.5 × 34.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
Accession Number
26.49.41
Tags
Art Historical Context
Abraham Bosse's *Return from the Christening (1633) is a captivating etching that offers a vivid glimpse into 17th-century French domestic life. As a leading French printmaker of the Baroque era, B specialized in detailed genre scenes depicting the everyday rituals of the bourgeoisie. This first-state impression—before any later revisions—captures a tender family moment: women and children gathered in an intimate bedroom setting, likely fresh from a baptism celebration, evoking the warmth of post-ritual homecoming. Rendered in etching, a technique Bosse mastered and even theorized about in hi...
About the Artist
Abraham Bosse · 1602–1676
Abraham Bosse (1604–1676) was a French printmaker and theorist whose approximately 1,600 etchings provide an unparalleled visual record of 17th-century French life. Born to Huguenot parents in Tours, he trained in Paris under Melchior Tavernier and became a devoted follower of Jacques Callot's technical innovations. Bosse's meticulous etchings depicted subjects ranging from daily life and fashion ...