The Old Woman and the Two Maids, plate no. 118 from "Fables choisies de La Fontaine ornées de figures lithographiques..."

Art Historical Context

Step into the whimsical world of Jean de La Fontaine's timeless fables with *The Old Woman and the Twoids*, plate 118 from the lavishly illustrated *Fables choisies* (ca. 1818–21). Designed by the prolific French artist Horace Vernet, renowned for energetic history paintings and Romantic flair, and masterfully printed by lithographer Godefroy Engelmann, lithograph captures a domestic scene rich with moral undertones. The second state of three editions highlights the evolving nuances of the printing process, showcasing subtle refinements in tone and detail. Lithography, a revolutionary technique invented just two decades earlier, allowed Vernet’s fluid, painterly sketches to translate vividly onto stone, producing prints with unprecedented softness and depth—ideal for illustrating La Fontaine’s 17th-century animal and human fables that satirized society. Here, an elderly woman interacts with two maids amid beds and chairs, evoking the fable’s likely theme of gossip or folly, a staple of French literary tradition. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Drawings and Prints department (The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, 1980), this 8 1/8 × 9 1/2 in. plate exemplifies early 19th-century innovation, bridging fine art and mass reproduction to bring moral lessons to wider audiences with charm and precision.