The Four Vases

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin

1754 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

In this ebullient print, Saint-Aubin presents us with four vase designs. With his characteristic disregard for technical precision, he wielded the etching needle in a fast and energetic manner, as if he were scribbling on paper. The vases, however, are secondary to their figural decorations. Rollicking putti tumble playfully, draped old men bow their heads in thought, and indolent sea nymphs verge on slumber. Each of the four vases bears Saint-Aubin’s signature "Gabriel" at the base, suggesting that he may have intended at some point to cut the plate into four pieces.

Artist

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin

Date

1754

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Massar Gift and The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1988