Cleveland Museum of Art

The Pranksters (Les Espiègles)

Charles-Melchior Descourtis

Date

c. 1798

Medium

Wash manner etching and engraving printed in blue, red, yellow, and black

Culture

France, 18th century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This meticulously crafted color print reproduces an oil painting by Jean-Frédéric Schall, an artist best known for his pastoral and mildly erotic scenes.During the French Revolution (1789–99), the market for deluxe color prints declined, as titillating subjects and signs of luxury were considered immoral. When attitudes relaxed around 1800, printmakers like Descourtis made a few color prints using multiple plates to layer tinted inks as they had before the Revolution. However, this time-consuming and expensive process was soon replaced by hand coloring that workers could more cheaply and easily accomplish.

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