Theatre Scene (recto); Lingerie Boutique and Conversation (verso) (c. 1765–75): Art, History and Details

Theatre Scene (recto); Lingerie Boutique and Conversation (verso) (c. 1765–75) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (French, 1724–1780).

The work and its context

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

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin was known for his distinctively sketchy style and interest in depicting performances such as dance and theater, the subjects seen here. The artist developed a distinctive composite style of sketching, and this work exemplifies his practice of covering both sides of a sheet of paper with diverse images in varying media.

Object facts

• Title: Theatre Scene (recto); Lingerie Boutique and Conversation (verso)
• Date: c. 1765–75
• Creator attribution: Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (French, 1724–1780)
• Culture: France
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: Pen and brown ink, black crayon and pink wash on laid paper (recto); pen and brown ink on laid paper (verso)
• Dimensions: Sheet: 21.7 x 17 cm (8 9/16 x 6 11/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - French
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2019.256

A detail from the museum

Because of Gabriel de Saint-Aubin’s focus on social events and contemporary culture, his drawings are considered important records of eighteenth-century Parisian life.

Collection credit

Bequest of Muriel Butkin

Further reading listed by the museum

• Musée des arts décoratifs (France), and International Confederation of Dealers in Works of Art. Chefs-d'œuvre de la curiosité du monde: 2e exposition internationale de la C.I.N.O.A., 10 juin-30 septembre 1954. [Paris]: [Les Presses Artistiques], 1954.
• Slatkin, Charles E. Exhibition of Drawings by Old and Modern Masters. New York: Charles E. Slatkin, 1956.
• Charles E. Slatkin Galleries. French Master Drawings, Renaissance to Modern. A Loan Exhibition, February 10 Through March 7, 1959. 1959.

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.