The Little Schoolmistress

Art Historical Context

*The Little Schoolmistress*, an etching and engraving from the mid- to late 18th, captures a charming domestic scene likely inspired by the Rococo elegance of François Boucher, with A. J. Defehrt as the skilled printmaker. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Drawings and Prints department (quired via the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 3), this trimmed sheet measures 10 5/8 × 7 15/16 inches, showcasing the era's fascination with intimate, everyday moments amid the opulent French Enlightenment. The print depicts a young schoolmistress surrounded by attentive boys and girls engaged in reading, evoking the growing emphasis on education in 18th-century Europe, particularly for the emerging middle class. Boucher's influence shines through in the playful, graceful figures—hallmarks of Rococo style—rendered with fine lines typical of etching's fluid spontaneity and engraving's precise detail. These techniques made high-art imagery accessible, democratizing culture through affordable reproductions. As a window into pre-Revolutionary social norms, this work highlights women's roles as educators and the value placed on literacy, offering visitors a delightful glimpse into a more innocent, instructive world.

About the Artist

A. J. Defehrt|François Boucher · 1708–1779

A. J. Defehrt (1723–1779) was a French draftsman, painter, and engraver whose career is best defined by his substantial contributions to one of the most ambitious publishing projects of the European Enlightenment: the illustrated plates of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. This monumental project, which aimed t...