The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
At Least Be Discreet
1789
(French, 1736–1807)
Sheet: 38.5 x 27.9 cm (15 3/16 x 11 in.); Platemark: 36.6 x 26.6 cm (14 7/16 x 10 1/2 in.)
James Parmelee Fund 2008.111.1
Catalogue raisonné: Bocher nos. 406-407; Portalis and Beraldi, vol. II, part II, p. 442, no. 9
Location: not on view
Description
Together these pendant prints depict a couple saying farewell after a romantic rendezvous. Still partially undressed, the woman cautions her lover to keep their tryst a secret. Both the man and the cherub beneath him proudly display a plucked rose as a symbol of sexual triumph. Meanwhile, below the woman, a blindfolded cupid steps toward a precipice, a sign that this lady is about to fall dangerously in love with a rogue. Amusingly, the prints actually depict the artist and his wife, whimsically portraying the mores and fashion of aristocratic society.- Elegance and Intrigue: French Society in 18th-century Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 6, 2016).
- {{cite web|title=At Least Be Discreet|url=false|author=Augustin de Saint-Aubin|year=1789|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.111.1