Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
This meticulously crafted color print reproduces an oil painting by Jean-Frédéric Schall, an artist best known for his pastoral and mildly erotic scenes.During the French Revolution (1789–99), the market for deluxe color prints declined, as titillating subjects and signs of luxury were considered immoral. When attitudes relaxed around 1800, printmakers like Descourtis made a few color prints using multiple plates to layer tinted inks as they had before the Revolution. However, this time-consuming and expensive process was soon replaced by hand coloring that workers could more cheaply and easily accomplish.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
79482
label
The Pranksters (Les Espiègles)
core
obj
dtoType
print
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
79482
contentType
print
title
The Pranksters (Les Espiègles)
description
This meticulously crafted color print reproduces an oil painting by Jean-Frédéric Schall, an artist best known for his pastoral and mildly erotic scenes.During the French Revolution (1789–99), the market for deluxe color prints declined, as titillating subjects and signs of luxury were considered immoral. When attitudes relaxed around 1800, printmakers like Descourtis made a few color prints using multiple plates to layer tinted inks as they had before the Revolution. However, this time-consuming and expensive process was soon replaced by hand coloring that workers could more cheaply and easily accomplish.
date
c. 1798
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79471763
creators
29278
66765
genreSpecific
Print
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 57 x 45 cm (22 7/16 x 17 11/16 in.); to borderline: 46.4 x 37.4 cm (18 1/4 x 14 3/4 in.)
cul
France, 18th century
accession
2015.15
Source extras
tec
Wash manner etching and engraving printed in blue, red, yellow, and black
tombstone
The Pranksters (Les Espiègles), c. 1798. Charles-Melchior Descourtis (French, 1753–1820), after Frédéric Schall (French, 1752–1825). Wash manner etching and engraving printed in blue, red, yellow, and black ; sheet: 57 x 45 cm (22 7/16 x 17 11/16 in.); to borderline: 46.4 x 37.4 cm (18 1/4 x 14 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Print Club of Cleveland in honor of the museum's one-hundredth anniversary, 2015.150
collection
PR - Engraving
inscriptions
inscription
In plate, below image: Schall pinx. Descourtis sculp. A Paris, chez Descourtis, Rue des Grands Degrés No. 12.
citations
citation
"Exhibitions." <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 56, no. 4 (July/August 2016): 4.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 4
catalogueRaisonne
Portalis & Béraldi 3; Model/Springer p. 50, plate 20.
creditline
Gift of the Print Club of Cleveland in honor of the museum's one-hundredth anniversary
updatedAt
2026-05-29 04:57:31.475000
sourceId
79482
dept
Prints
coll
PR - Engraving
med
Wash manner etching and engraving printed in blue, red, yellow, and black
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
878f5981c2ae364f