Plate 46: Habit de Folie: a woman in a ballet pose, wearing a bonnet and holding a marotte in her right hand, from 'New designs for costumes' (Nouveaux desseins d'habillements à l'usage des balets operas et comedies)

Art Historical Context

In the lavish world of early 18th-century French theater, Plate 46: *Habit de Folie* from *Nouveaux desseins d'habillements à l'usage des balets operas et comedies* captures the whimsical essence of performance costume design. Created around 1721 by Claude Gillot, a pioneering Rococo artist known for his lively scenes of commedia dell'arte and festive gatherings, and etched by François Joullain, this print depicts a graceful woman in a ballet pose. She wears an elaborate bonnet and clutches a marotte—a fool's scepter topped with a jester's head—embodying the playful "Folly" character central to ballets, operas, and comedies. Etching, the medium here, allowed precise reproduction of intricate details like flowing fabrics and expressive poses, making these designs accessible to tailors and performers across Europe. Gillot's fluid lines and theatrical flair influenced later masters like Antoine Watteau, highlighting the era's blend of art and spectacle during the Regency period under Philippe II, Duke of Orléans. This 5 7/8 x 3 3/8-inch gem from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection offers a window into the cultural vibrancy of French stagecraft, where costume was as much a star as the dancer, celebrating fantasy, movement, and the folly of human joy.

About the Artist

Claude Gillot|François Joullain · 1673–1722

Artist known for his elegant designs done in the Rococo manner of Audran; also for his predilection for scenes from the 'comedia dell'arte.' Few paintings survive; his work is known mainly through drawings and etchings. Comment on works: Genre; History