The First Guard (c. 1754): Art, History and Details

The First Guard (c. 1754) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Gabriel Huquier (French, 1695–1772); François Boucher (French, 1703–1770).

The work and its context

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

Many of François Boucher's decorative designs were published as prints sometimes executed by the painter, etcher, and publisher-dealer Gabriel Huquier. Thus, both these artists played significant roles in the development and spread of the elaborate Rococo style. The First Guard-depicting a rustic band of young and old men who have temporarily shed their weapons to concentrate on a game of dice-typifies the sort of picturesque genre scene at which Boucher excelled. The artist displays his ingenuity by composing a pleasing arrangement of artfully posed figures and carefully placed objects.

Object facts

• Title: The First Guard
• Date: c. 1754
• Creator attribution: Gabriel Huquier (French, 1695–1772); François Boucher (French, 1703–1770)
• Culture: France
• Type: Print
• Technique: etching
• Dimensions: Image: 32.4 x 20.8 cm (12 3/4 x 8 3/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Etching
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1964.26

Collection credit

In honor of Leona E. Prasse

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.