Design for a Rocaille Cartouche with the Figure of a Putto, Plate 3 from an untitled series with architectural cartouches and allegorical figures

Art Historical Context

Step into the exuberant world of mid-18th-century Roc design with this etching, *Design for a Rocailleouche with the Figure of Putto*, Plate 3 from an untitled of architectural cartouches andorical figures. Created around 1750–56 by a collaboration of engravers Jacob Gottlieb Thelot, Martinbrecht, and Jeremiassmuth—prominent figures in Augsburg's printmaking scene—this print measures a modest 8 7/16 × 13 3/4 inches, perfect for an artist's reference album. Rocaille style, with its playful asymmetry, scrolling shells, and organic flourishes, defined the decorative arts of the Rococo era, reacting against Baroque grandeur with lighter, more intimate elegance. Here, a chubby putto—a cherubic child symbolizing innocence or love—frolics within an ornate cartouche, an ornamental frame often used to enclose coats of arms, titles, or maps in architecture, furniture, and books. These prints served as pattern books for craftsmen, disseminating fashionable motifs across Europe. Etching's fine, fluid lines capture the intricate details, making this accessible yet sophisticated design a testament to printmaking's role in spreading ornamental innovation. Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2014 through the Daniel Ergmann Gift, it invites us to appreciate how such whimsical inventions adorned the salons of the Enlightenment elite.

About the Artist

Jacob Gottlieb Thelot|Martin Engelbrecht|Jeremias Wachsmuth (Central European|German|German) · |1700 |1684 – |1790 |1756

German, Augsburg 1708–1760 Augsburg|German, active Augsburg, ca. 1750|German, Augsburg 1684–1756 Augsburg