Pendant Shaped like a Beetle with a Couple and a Young Man Playing an Instrument

Jean Toutin

1619 · Blackwork and engraving · Drawings and Prints

Jean I Toutin often combined his designs for goldsmiths work with figurative scenes that do not always seem to relate directly, but make his sheets all the more attractive. The current sheet, from a series dated 1619, shows a pendant shaped like a beetle, its back is covered in Schweifwerk ornament which was to be executed in enamel. Two different types of beetles are depicted on either side, presumably to show possible variations in the shape of the pendant. The scene below portrays a young man playing an instrument while sitting in the shade of a tree. A man and a woman are standing close by and seem to listen to his music.

Artist

Jean Toutin

Date

1619

Medium

Blackwork and engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1923