Le Magnifique, from "Contes et nouvelles en vers par Jean de La Fontaine. A Paris, de l'imprimerie de P. Didot, l'an III de la République, 1795"
Medium
Etching and engraving; second state of three (Cohen)
Dimensions
Sheet: 14 × 10 5/16 in. (35.5 × 26.2 cm) Plate: 12 1/2 × 9 5/8 in. (31.8 × 24.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1933
Accession Number
33.104.36
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Le Magnifique**, a captivating etching and engraving from 1795, graces the pages of a luxurious illustrated edition of Jean de La's *Contes et nouvelles en vers*, published in Paris by the renowned printer Pierre Didot l'aîné during Year III of the French Republic. This second state of three (as cataloged by Cohen) captures the playful spirit of La Fontaine's witty, often risqué tales, with Jean Honoré Fragonard's Rococo design brought to life through Jean-Baptiste Tilliard's skilled engraving. Measuring 14 × 10 5/16 inches on the sheet, it depicts an intimate interior scene featuring men, women, and frolicsome putti—cherubic figures symbolizing love and mischief. Fragonard, a master of the Rococo style celebrated for its sensual elegance and lighthearted eroticism, infuses the print with dynamic energy and delicate linework typical of etching and engraving techniques. These methods allowed for intricate details and tonal depth, making fine-art prints like this accessible yet collectible in late 18th-century France. Produced amid the French Revolution's turbulence, the volume represents a defiant celebration of pre-revolutionary refinement by elite publishers like Didot. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (acquired via the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1933), *Le Magnifique* invites visitors to savor La Fontaine's timeless storytelling through Fragonard's vivid imagination—a charming bridge between literature, luxury printing, and artistic whimsy.
About the Artist
Jean Honoré Fragonard|Jean de La Fontaine|Jean-Baptiste Tilliard|Pierre Didot l'ainé · 1732–1806
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. Born in Grasse, he moved to Paris where he trained under Jean-Baptiste Chardin and François Boucher, winning the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1752. After studying in Italy alongside Hubert Robert, Fragonard returned to Paris in 1761 to fi...