Cleveland Museum of Art

Trissotin Reading to Philaminte, Bélise, and Armande (from act 3, scene 2 of Molière's "Les Femmes Savantes"

Charles Coypel

Date

probably c. 1725–1726

Medium

graphite, graphite wash, and red chalk

Culture

France, 18th century

Department

Drawings

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The son of Antoine Coypel (whose drawing is on view nearby), Charles Coypel was a playwright as well as an artist, so his understanding of the theater was profound. This is the only known drawing for the series of prints Coypel designed after scenes from famous works by the great playwright Molière (about 1622-1673). For the subject of this drawing, Coypel chose a famous scene from The Learned Ladies, in which the pompous tutor, Trissotin, reads his own work to his pretentious female admirers, Philaminte, Bélise, and Armande, all of whom have been duped by his pseudo-intellectualism. The overly enthusiastic gestures of these women contrast with the quiet dejection of Henrietta at the far right. The sensitive daughter of Philaminte, she is the only one not taken in by Trissotin's pretensions.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.