Rocaille Cartouche with the Abduction of Helen of Troy, from "'Livre D'Ornemens Inventes & Dessines Par J. O. Meissonnier (...)"

Rocaille Cartouche with the Abduction of Helen of Troy, from "'Livre D'Ornemens Inventes & Dessines Par J. O. Meissonnier (...)"

Obelle

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Juste Aurele Meissonnier was one of the most important silversmiths of the eighteenth century, and through his prints also became an important influence in the development of the taste and appreciation for Rococo design. This print shows a design for a vignette containing a large symmetrical cartouche with architectural elements, leaf and rocaille motifs and a compartment in the center containing a depiction of the Abduction of Helen of Troy. It was part of the series 'Livre D'Ornemens Inventes & Dessines Par J. O. Meissonnier (....)', which consisted of a title and six prints with designs for rocaille ornament, several of which show cartouches surrounding a central scene. Meissonnier requested a privilege for the series in November of 1733 and officially published it in March 1734. The series is known in four states and was also copied in England by Francois Vivares. Several of the designs from the series were are known to have been adapted for the decoration of tobacco and snuff boxes.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rocaille Cartouche with the Abduction of Helen of Troy, from "'Livre D'Ornemens Inventes & Dessines Par J. O. Meissonnier (...)"Rocaille Cartouche with the Abduction of Helen of Troy, from "'Livre D'Ornemens Inventes & Dessines Par J. O. Meissonnier (...)"Rocaille Cartouche with the Abduction of Helen of Troy, from "'Livre D'Ornemens Inventes & Dessines Par J. O. Meissonnier (...)"Rocaille Cartouche with the Abduction of Helen of Troy, from "'Livre D'Ornemens Inventes & Dessines Par J. O. Meissonnier (...)"Rocaille Cartouche with the Abduction of Helen of Troy, from "'Livre D'Ornemens Inventes & Dessines Par J. O. Meissonnier (...)"

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.