FRANCOIS-ANTOINE AVELINE, French, 1691-1743;
after JEAN MONDON THE YOUNGER,
French, active 1736-1745
“Chinese” Decorative Design (Chinoiserie)
from Cinquieme Livre de Figures et Ornements Chinois
etching, hand-colored, 1736
Ackland Fund, 63.43.3-8

In 1736 seven sets of prints appeared based on Mondon’s rococo designs. These four plates come from the fourth and fifth sets, which are devoted to ornament in the “Chinese” style. The name rococo derives from the French words rocaille (a structure of irregular stones) and coquille (shell), and the arabesque is a linear expression of these forms. The rococo was adored by some and loathed by others because of its “frivolity”and lack of meaning.