The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 14, 2025
Inventor of Greek Figures, Plate 10
1771
(Italian, 1727–1792)
(French, 1727-1801)
Image: 23.8 x 16.7 cm (9 3/8 x 6 9/16 in.); Plate: 27 x 18.4 cm (10 5/8 x 7 1/4 in.); Sheet: 41.9 x 28.1 cm (16 1/2 x 11 1/16 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
Ennemond Alexandre Petitot was an architect and stage designer who often incorporated classicized elements into his designs.Description
Poking fun at the vogue for classical antiquities that gripped Enlightenment Europe, French architect Ennemond Alexandre Petitot portrayed himself as an elaborately dressed Greek statue in a drawing on which this print is likely based. The popularization of classical elements and motifs in fine and decorative arts during this period was known as the goût grec, or "Greek taste." Revered for its perceived simplicity and grandeur, ancient Greek art was believed to reflect the physical health and moral character of that civilization. Here reproduced by engraver Benigno Bossi, Petitot’s design whimsically parodies the artist and his time, transforming the elegance and sobriety of classical Greece into the excess and extravagance of the 1700s.- Francisco Tasta, with "1800" inscribed on the pastedown; Charlotte and Arthur Vershbow, Boston; Purchased from Lucien Goldschmidt in 1982?–2014(Susan Schulman Printseller, New York, NY, sold to The Print Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH)The Print Club of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OHMarch 3, 2014–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Imagination in the Age of Reason. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 28, 2024-March 2, 2025).
- {{cite web|title=Inventor of Greek Figures, Plate 10|url=false|author=Benigno Bossi, Ennemond Alexandre Petitot|year=1771|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2014.6.11