At Least Be Discreet (1789): Art, History and Details

At Least Be Discreet (1789) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Augustin de Saint-Aubin (French, 1736–1807).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Together these pendant prints depict a couple saying farewell after a romantic rendezvous. Still partially undressed, the woman cautions her lover to keep their tryst a secret. Both the man and the cherub beneath him proudly display a plucked rose as a symbol of sexual triumph. Meanwhile, below the woman, a blindfolded cupid steps toward a precipice, a sign that this lady is about to fall dangerously in love with a rogue. Amusingly, the prints actually depict the artist and his wife, whimsically portraying the mores and fashion of aristocratic society.

Object facts

• Title: At Least Be Discreet
• Date: 1789
• Creator attribution: Augustin de Saint-Aubin (French, 1736–1807)
• Culture: France
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching and engraving
• Dimensions: Sheet: 38.5 x 27.9 cm (15 3/16 x 11 in.); Platemark: 36.6 x 26.6 cm (14 7/16 x 10 1/2 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2008.111.1

Collection credit

James Parmelee Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.