L’Assemblée au Concert (A Gathering at a Concert). Engraved by François-Nicolas-Barthélemy Dequevauviller (1745-1807), after a gouache by Nicolas Lavreince (1737-1807). Etching and engraving, c. 1785.

Dimensions: 25 L" x 23" H framed.

Working in France during the reign of King Louis XVI, Swedish artist, Niklas Lafrensen (sometimes called Nicolas Lavreince) recorded much about polite eighteenth-century French society in his artwork. His images found wide audience because they were frequently engraved by François-Nicolas-Barthélemy Dequevauviller. L’Assemblée au Concert depicts a sumptuous interior where fashionable guests gather to socialize and enjoy music. It has become one of the most recognizable scenes from that era, as well as an invaluable source for contemporary art historians interested in descerning information about cultural mores, costumes and furnishings of that period.

During the eighteenth-century, genre scenes were highly collectible with elite audiences, not unlike those depicted in this work of art. In addition, the style is characteristic of the taste for gravure, a printing technique made up of thin engraved lines.

This particular work of art is set within a remarkable gilt-wood frame. A ribbon carved in wood adorns the top. The frame is consistent with the engraving's aesthetic, but was likely produced sometime later, perhaps in the late 19th, or early 20th-century.

Other versions of the engraving held in museum collections:

Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200182906/

Victoria and Albert Museum. http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1261650/lassemblee-au-concert-print-francois-dequevauviller/

Harvard Art Museums: http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/275575