Design for Vis-A-Vis Carriage

Art Historical Context

This charming hand-colored lithograph, titled *Design for Vis-A-Visriage*, captures the elegance of 19th-century carriage design around 1870. Created anonymously during the waning years of the Second Empire, it depicts a vis-à-vis carriage—a stylish horse-drawn vehicle with facing seats, ideal for leisurely outings by the elite. These carriages symbolized social status and refined taste in an era when personal transport blended artistry with functionality, just before automobiles reshaped mobility. The medium shines here: lithography allowed precise reproduction of intricate details like ornate wheels, tufted upholstery, and gleaming lacquer, while hand-coloring with gum arabic added luminous depth and gloss, mimicking polished wood and fabric. Gum arabic, a natural binder, ensured vibrant, smudge-resistant hues, making these prints popular in design catalogs for coachbuilders and fashionable patrons. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department as a 1923 gift from William Brewster, this petite sheet (5 13/16 x 8 9/16 in.) offers a window into decorative arts history, highlighting how printed designs democratized luxury aesthetics in belle époque France. A delightful glimpse of bygone glamour!

About the Artist

Anonymous, French, 19th century · 1800–1900

**Anonymous, French, 19th Century (ca. 1800–1900)** The artist cataloged as Anonymous, French, 19th century embodies the enigmatic yet essential contributions of unidentified creators to France's vibrant 19th-century art world. Active roughly between 1800 and 1900, this figure—or potentially collective workshop—produced a diverse array of works amid the nation's transition from Neoclassicism thro...