L'Homme qui court après la Fortune et celui qui l'attend dans son lit

Art Historical Context

Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department will delight in *L'Homme qui court la Fortune et celui qui'attend dans son lit (1886), a witty etching that brings Jean de La Fontaine's17th-century fable to. The title translates to "The Who Runs After Fortune and the One Who Wait for It in His Bed poking fun at human folly: one man frantically chases elusive Fortune, while another lounges expectantly in bed, only for her to slip away. This moral tale, rich with irony, resonated in 19th-century France amid rapid social changes and the allure of wealth during the Belle Époque. Master etcher Félix Bracquemond, renowned for his precise lines and Japanese-inspired compositions, executed this fifth and final state of the plate—likely after a design by Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, whose dreamlike imagery often infused fables with mystical depth. Published by Boussod, Valadon & Co., the work measures a generous sheet of 18 11/16 × 12 7/8 inches, showcasing etching's intaglio technique: fine, bitten lines that capture texture and movement. Women figure prominently in the tags, hinting at Fortune's seductive, personified form. Acquired through The Elisha Whittelsey Collection in 1963, this print exemplifies the revival of illustrative etching in fin-de-siècle Paris, blending literary tradition with avant-garde printmaking. It invites reflection on patience versus pursuit—timeless themes in an era obsessed with progress.

About the Artist

Félix Bracquemond|Jean de La Fontaine|Gustave Moreau|Boussod, Valadon & Co.|Boussod, Valadon and Co. · 1833–1914

French, Paris 1833–1914 Sèvres