At the Pushkin Museum named after. Pushkin will show French engravings from the Rococo era

Before us is a scene from the everyday life of representatives of high society in the 18th century. The engraving Farewell shows a lady in luxurious attire on the threshold of a theater box; her gaze is turned to her secret admirer, who kisses her hand, while her husband, who has already entered the box, holds the other. His attention is completely captured by the theater hall ( or, perhaps, by the one who is in it), and he does not pay attention to his wife.

“Farewell” can be seen at the exhibition “ Gallant Games”, which contains a collection of French engravings from the Rococo era from the collections of the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin. The sheet was made by engraver Robert Delaunay from a drawing by Jean-Michel Moreau the Younger in 1777. It is part of an extensive series of so-called engravings of morals, published at the end of the 18th century under the title “ Memorial Testimony of Life and Moral Orders.” The series consisted of three collections - suites, created at different times, and repeatedly reissued together and separately. Each contains 12 sheets, which depict characteristic scenes from the lives of noble ladies and gentlemen ( often with a fair amount of irony). “ Farewell” refers to the second suite, which dealt with a woman’s life after marriage, her social appearances and behavior in society.

Also presented is an engraving from the first suite, dedicated to the life of a girl before marriage. The sheet " An Incident at the Ball" was made by the engraver Antoine-Jean Duclos based on a drawing by Sigmund Freudenberger. Before us again are three characters: a girl in a dress strewn with flowers, another girl is hiding behind her, holding a mask to her face, and a gentleman in a mask is kneeling in front of the main character, who is kissing the hand of the hiding girl.

In addition to the graphic sheets from the Memorable Certificate, the exhibition included engravings made from paintings and drawings by the main artists of the Rococo era. For example, “ Happy Possibilities of a Swing” - an engraving by Nicolas Delaunay based on a pictorial original by Jean Honore Fragonard or “ German Dance ( Allemande)” by Gilles Demarteau based on a drawing by Francois Boucher.

In total, the exhibition contains 60 sheets: etchings, color aquatint, pencil engravings. Almost all works come from the collections of the Baryatinskys, Bobrinskys, and Basnins; many works will be shown to the public for the first time.

March 14 - June 1, arts-museum.ru .

VEDOMOSTI.FRIDAY - Their morals