Frieze: Trophies of Arms and Putti
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-98-1
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Jean Le Pautre’s 1671 print *Frieze: Trophies of Arms and Putti* captures the elegant ornamental language of French Baroque design. Working at the height of Louis XIV’s reign, Le Pautre specialized in engraved patterns that supplied craftsmen with motifs for architecture, furniture, and metalwork. This frieze combines lively putti—cherubic figures often used to suggest playfulness and divine favor—with trophies of arms, arrangements of weapons and armor that celebrated military triumph. Printed on paper, the work belongs to a tradition of reproductive prints that allowed decorative ideas to travel quickly across Europe. Collectors and artisans could study the balanced composition and intricate details without needing access to the original wall or object. Acquired for the Smithsonian American Art Museum by the Advisory Council, the sheet remains a valuable record of how 17th-century French taste shaped later ornamental styles.