Study for an Engraving of "Songs in the Opera of Flora"
ca. 1737
Medium
Pen and blue ink, with black chalk and graphite underdrawing
Dimensions
2 13/16 x 3 15/16 in. (7.1 x 10 cm.)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1944
Accession Number
44.54.4
Tags
Art Historical Context
Hubert François Gravelot's *Study for an Engraving "Songs in the Opera Flora"* (ca. 1737) is a delicate preparatory drawing that captures the lively spirit of 18th-century French Rococo art. Created as a design for an engraving, this small-scale work (just under 4 inches wide) depicts figures likely engaged in a musical scene from the opera *Flora*, evoking era's fascination with pastoral pleasures, theater, and ornate decoration. Gravelot, a master illustrator and engraver who bridged French and English artistic circles, was renowned for his intricate book illustrations and theatrical designs...
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...