Suite des Vases Tirée du Cabinet de Monsieur Du Tillot Marquis de Felino

Art Historical Context

Created in 1771, *Suite des Vases Tirée du Cabinet de Monsieur Du Tillot Marquis de Felino* is a finely etched volume that captures the refined taste of eighteenth-century European collectors. Published as a book of measuring roughly 19 by 14 inches, the work reproduces elegant vase forms drawn from the celebrated cabinet of Léon Guillaume Du Tillot, Marquis de Felino. The etchings, executed after designs by Ennemond Alexandre Petitot and realized by Benigno Bossi, celebrate the graceful silhouettes and ornamental details of classical vessels. The imagery blends delicate foliage with fragmentary ruins, evoking the period’s fascination with antiquity. Such motifs reflect the neoclassical enthusiasm sparked by recent archaeological discoveries at Herculaneum and Pompeii, transforming ancient fragments into modern decorative ideals. As a printed “suite,” the volume allowed wider audiences to study and admire these forms, bridging the private world of aristocratic collecting with the public appreciation of design. Today housed in the Metropolitan Museum’s Department of Drawings and Prints, the book remains a charming testament to the era’s dialogue between past and present, art and nature.

About the Artist

Ennemond Alexandre Petitot|Benigno Bossi|Léon Guillaume Du Tillot · 1727–1801

Recipient of the Grand Prix in 1745. Court architect to the Bourbons of Parma. Became a citizen of Parma in 1758. Elected a member of the Académie royale d'architecture (France) in Paris in 1762. Macmillan mentions that Petitot worked as urban planner, inventor of decorative displays, technician of hydraulic engineering, engraver and planner of festivals. French architect, printmaker and designer,...