L'Evenement au Bal (The Event at the Ball, from from Monument du Costume Physique et Moral de la fin du Dix-huitième siècle)
Medium
Engraving with etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 27.6 × 22 cm (10 7/8 × 8 11/16 in.); Plate: 40.8 × 32.2 cm (16 1/8 × 12 11/16 in.); Sheet, folded: 54 × 41.2 cm (21 5/16 × 16 1/4 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
30143
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
L'Evenement au captures a lively moment at an 18th-century French ball, where fashion, manners, and social drama intersect. Created by Antoine-Jean Duclos in 1774, engraving with etching belongs to the ambitious series Monument du Costume Physique et Moral de la fin du Dix-huitième siècle. The records the elaborate clothing, hairstyles, and gestures of the period just before the French Revolution, offering viewers a glimpse into aristocratic leisure and etiquette. As part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection, the work highlights the importance of reproductive print...