Book of Fountains: No. 4

c. 1736

after François Boucher

(French, 1703–1770)

Culture

France, 18th century

Medium

etching

Measurements

Sheet: 35.5 x 25.9 cm (14 x 10 3/16 in.); Platemark: 27.1 x 17.3 cm (10 11/16 x 6 13/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Erich Lederer 1953.674

Catalogue raisonné

Fonds Français 18tieme siecle XI.457.576-582

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Location

Not on view

Description

French prints promoting l’art rocaille (rock and shell art) or goût pittoresque (picturesque taste) quickly migrated throughout Europe and influenced the development of an international rococo style. The drawing on the left is one of Boucher’s designs for a printed suite of ornamental fountains, two of which are on display here. Boucher melds the shapes of animals, rocks, shells, mythological beasts, and humans into fanciful cascades with a sense of unstable equilibrium.