Engraving The Preparations for the Ball

Jacques-Firmin Beauvarlet, born in Abbeville in 1731 and died in 1797 after spending most of his career in Paris, was a French engraver and publisher. Appointed engraver to the king in 1762, he became a member of the Académie in 1776, fourteen years later. Unlike some of his colleagues and contemporaries...

Jacques-Firmin Beauvarlet, born in Abbeville in 1731 and died in 1797 after spending most of his career in Paris, was a French engraver and publisher. Appointed engraver to the king in 1762, he became a member of the Académie in 1776, fourteen years later. Unlike some of his colleagues and contemporaries, he engraved in 'small format', i.e. based on reductions of paintings rather than the original works. The etching and engraving is reversed in relation to Jean-François De Troy's painting, but depicts the same scene, that of preparations for a ball. A lady in the centre of the composition, seated on her chair surrounded by her servants, is getting ready for the evening. It is a genre scene, set indoors, with multiple decorative and clothing elements that are characteristic of the French school of the late 18th century.