Nicolas Bremont, Cook at the French Academy in Rome, pl. XIV from "Recueil de caricatures"
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 11 1/8 × 7 7/8 in. (28.3 × 20 cm) Plate: 10 13/16 × 7 5/8 in. (27.5 × 19.3 cm)
Classification
Prints|Albums
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Carolyn Bullard Gift, in honor of E. John Bullard and funds from various donors, 2014
Accession Number
2014.196.1 (8)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming etching from around 1754 captures Nicolas Bremont, the cook at the French Academy in Rome, in a lively caricature. Created as plate XIV in the album *Recueil de caricatures*, the work pairs the talents of collector and amateur artist Ange-Laurent de La Live de Jully with sculptor Jacques François Joseph Saly. The medium of etching allows for crisp, expressive lines that exaggerate Bremont’s features while highlighting his profession through kitchen tools and attire. In the mid-eighteenth century, the French Academy in Rome served as a hub for young artists completing their training. Caricatures like this one offered a playful counterpoint to formal academic studies, poking gentle fun at both celebrated painters and the supporting staff who sustained daily life. By singling out the cook, the print reminds viewers of the essential often overlooked roles that made the artistic community function. As part of a larger album such portraits, the etching reflects the era’s growing taste for witty, intimate glimpses of society. Its lighthearted focus on food and cooking adds warmth and humanity to the record of French artistic life abroad.
About the Artist
Ange-Laurent de La Live de Jully|Jacques François Joseph Saly (French| | ) · 1715 |1725 |1725 –1790 |1779 |1779
French, Paris 1715–1790 Paris|1725–1779|1725–1779