Persian Flowers

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Jean Baptiste Pillement was one of the most influential designers of the Rococo period, known for his varied and prolific chinoiseries (European variants of Chinese and Japanese motifs). His designs were spread throughout Europe primarily via their translation into prints. This print is one of a set of six etched by Pillement himself. Each depicts a so-called “Persian” flower, largely fantasies, presenting strange, alienlike floral forms that could be adapted to various uses from textiles to wall decorations. The artist Jean Baptiste Pillement was employed by Marie Antoinette to create decorations for her legendary retreat, the Petit Trianon, at Versailles.