Study for a frontispiece for "Histoire de Miss Jenny"
18th century
Medium
Black chalk with graphite
Dimensions
4 15/16 x 2 13/16 in. (12.6 x 7.1 cm.)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1944
Accession Number
44.54.32
Tags
Art Historical Context
Hubert François Gravelot, prominent French rococo artist and illustrator active in the 18th century, created this delicate *Study for a frontispiece for "Histoire de Jenny"* as a preparatory for a book illustration. Frontispieces like this one served as ornate introductions to printed works, capturing key themes or scenes on the page facing the title. Likely depicting intimate figures—men and women in a bedroom setting—this sketch evokes the era's fascination with domestic narratives and sentimental stories, common in French literature of the time. Rendered in black chalk heightened with grap...
About the Artist
Hubert François Gravelot
Hubert-François Bourguignon, known as Gravelot (1699–1773), was a leading French Rococo engraver, illustrator, and designer whose elegant draftsmanship bridged the artistic worlds of France and England. Born in Paris to a tailor, he adopted his pseudonym from a godfather and grew up alongside his elder brother, the geographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville. After neglecting studies at the Col...