Shepherdess by Ennemond Alexandre Petitot
ABOUT THIS COLLECTION
This series of engravings by architect and designer Ennemond Alexandre Petitot were made in 1771. Called “Masquerade à la Grecque” (“Greek Masquerade”), they consist of nine characters—shepherdess and shepherd, the bride and groom, the priestess and monk, the sutler (provisioner to an army camp) and grenadier, and the artist himself, in the costume of an ancient Egyptian architect. Etched and published by Benigno Bossi, the work satirizes the popularity of the “goût grec,” or Greek taste in art and architecture sweeping France at the time. In his brief introduction to the book, Petitot says he extended the goût grec to the portrayal of the human body as a joke (badinage, as he called it) by draping figures in costumes composed of fragments of ancient Greek architectural elements and ornaments.
COLLECTION DETAILS
- Series title: Greek Masquerade
- Series size: 8 artworks
- Edition: Limited edition of 1000
- Proof of Ownership: Certification on the Ethereum blockchain under the ERC1155 protocol. Each artwork is delivered privately and directly to collectors as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that guarrante proof of ownership.
- Format: Pieces consist of PNG files sized 2160x3840 pixels - 150 dpi.
- Medium: Etching
- Artwork materials: Prints, etchings
- Contract Address: 0x495f947276749ce646f68ac8c248420045cb7b5e
- ID: 2749212597480566...
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Lyon, Petitot attended the Paris Academy of Architecture, and in 1746 moved to Italy to study at the French Academy of Rome. In 1753 he was named architect to the Bourbon court of Parma. Although he was an exponent of neoclassicism, and changed the face of Parma with his neoclassical buildings, he embraced imaginative interpretations of the style. In two famous books of ornament prints—"Suite de Vases” (1764) and “Greek Masquerade”—Petitot gave full reign to his imagination and ensured his legacy as one of the most original exponents of neoclassicism. In the last plate seen here, he depicts himself humorously as an architect in ancient Egypt, placed in a fantastic still life with a pyramid and a Corinthian column. His parallelogram-shaped hat with bells hanging from both sides is worth special mention, along with the heavy square glasses that one might find in a designer eyewear shop today.
COLLECTION CREDITS
- Historical curatorship: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
- Artwork: Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, Benigno Bossi
- Year of original pulbication: 1771
- Post-production: HARI - Historical Art Research Institute (HARI Editions)
- Digital art supervisor: Marie-Lou Desmeules
- Editorial: Braden Phillips
- Historical research: Evangelos Rosios, Braden Phillips
- Executive production: Victor Zabrockis
RIGHTS OVERVIEW
- Source of artwork: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Underlying work rights: PD Worldwide
- Digital copyrights: No Additional Rights