Caricature of an Engraver (recto); Sketch for a Caricature (verso)

Art Historical Context

This intriguing double-sided drawing, attributed to the French artists Jean Charles Delafosse and Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, offers a witty glimpse into the world of 18th-century satire. On the recto, a caricatured engraver comes to life through expressive facial features and props like books, rendered with lively pen strokes and layered washes. The verso reveals a preliminary sketch, showing the artist’s creative process in developing humorous ideas. The medium—pen and black ink with gray and colored washes over black chalk—allows for both precise line work and subtle tonal effects, highlighting the playful exaggeration typical of caricature. Such works often poked fun at professions and social types, using books and faces to comment on knowledge, vanity, or artistic life. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints as part of the Elisha Whittelsey Collection, this small sheet (roughly the size of a postcard) reminds us how even modest works can capture the spirit of their time through clever observation and technical skill.

About the Artist

Jean Charles Delafosse|Ennemond Alexandre Petitot · 1734–1789

French architect. Comment on works: architect; copper engraver Comment on works: Architect; Draughtsman; Ornamentist; Engraver