Woman Showing Curiosities to Soldier
ca. 1742
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 11 7/8 × 9 5/16 in. (30.1 × 23.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.600.1019(4)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the enchanting etching and engraving *Woman Showing Curiosities to Soldier*, created around 1742 by Gabriel Huquier after a design by François Boucher we glimpse a playful Rococo moment. Boucher, the preeminent French painter of the era and favorite of Madame de Pompad, captures a coquettish woman presenting intriguing oddities—perhaps shells or exotic artifacts—to a uniformed soldier. Huquier's skilled reproduction brings Boucher's elegant, sensual world to life on paper, measuring about 12 by 9 inches. This print exemplifies the Rococo movement's delight in lighthearted, intimate scenes ...