Rosette Designs
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-330-87
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**Rosette Designs** by Richard de Lalonde, a artist active from 1780 to 1796, dates to 1785–1788. This print captures the elegance of late 18th-century French decorative arts, showcasing intricate rosette motifs—circular floral patterns beloved in architecture, furniture, textiles. As a print, it likely served as a pattern book plate, disseminating sophisticated designs to craftsmen across Europe during the waning years of the Ancien Régime. Lalonde's work reflects the refined Louis XVI style, blending Neoclassical symmetry with delicate ornamentation, just before the French Revolution disrup...