Manhood, plate three from The Four Ages of Man
Abraham Bosse (French, 1602-1676)
1636
- Medium
- Etching on paper
- Classification
- Culture
- France
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Prints and Drawings
- Credit line
- Joseph Brooks Fair Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Abraham Bosse primarily depicted scenes of 17th-century Parisian society and was considered original and highly influential on French art. A follower of Jacques Callot, Bosse adopted the belief that etchings should imitate engravings, using special techniques allowing him to create swelling lines through the etching ground. No longer depicting the curious boy nor the wanton young man, in Manhood Bosse celebrates the third age of man. In this scene of refined affluence and composure, an established gentleman directs his attention toward the viewer, bidding us to join in a family meal, much to the dismay of the small dog hoping for a few scraps of food.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
