Two Arabesque Panel Designs
late 18th century
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council
Accession Number
1921-6-308-9
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**Two Arabesque Panel Designs** by Jean-Baptiste captures the elegant flourish of late 18th-century French arts. Active from around 1765 through the 1790s, Fay was a skilled printmaker whose works served as blueprints for artisans crafting wall panels, furniture, and furnishings. Created in the final decades before the French Revolution, these designs reflect the opulent Rococo-to-Neoclassical transition, arabesques—intricate, flowing motifs of vines, scrolls, and foliage—adorned the interiors of chateaus and grand salons, symbolizing nature's graceful abundance. As a print, this artwork exem...