The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Book of Fountains:  No. 6

Book of Fountains: No. 6

c. 1736
(French, 1695–1772)
(French, 1703–1770)
Image: 25 x 15 cm (9 13/16 x 5 7/8 in.); Platemark: 27.2 x 17.1 cm (10 11/16 x 6 3/4 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Fonds Français 18tieme siecle XI.457.576-582
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.
  • Elegance and Intrigue: French Society in 18th-century Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 6, 2016).
    Inventive Impressions: 18th- and 19-Century French Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001).
    French Drawings from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1994-March 12, 1995).
    Real Prints: Reproduction or Invention. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 7-May 17, 1987).
    French Prints and Drawings in the Age of the Bourbons, 1589-1792. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 2-May 16, 1982).
  • {{cite web|title=Book of Fountains: No. 6|url=false|author=Gabriel Huquier, François Boucher|year=c. 1736|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.518