The Secret
Medium
Stipple engraving, first state
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 14 5/16 × 10 1/16 in. (36.4 × 25.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Olga Sichel and Max Philippson, 1962
Accession Number
62.557.82
Tags
Art Historical Context
**The Secret** is a delicate stipple engraving from the early 19th century, created around 1804–1831 by Jacquesfoy d'Arles a design by the renowned Rococo master François Boucher, with publication by Bance lîné. Measuring about 14½ by 10 inches, this first-state impression captures Boucher's signature playful elegance in a trimmed sheet format. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it was generously gifted by Mrs. Olga Sichel and Max Philip in 1962. Stipple engraving, a technique using fine dots to build subtle tones and textures, was ideal for reproducing...
About the Artist
Jacques Bonnefoy d'Arles|François Boucher|Bance l'ainé (French|French|French) · 1755 |1703 | –1828 |1770 |
French, Arles 1755–1828 Paris|French, Paris 1703–1770 Paris|