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Print, Plate 3, from Diverses pièces de serruriers (Various Designs for Locksmiths)
This is a Print. It was designed by Hugues Brisville and published by Pierre Mariette, Hugues Brisville and Nicolas Langlois and engraved by Jean Bérain the Elder. It is dated after 1662 and we acquired it in 1920. Its medium is engraving on laid paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.
As the locksmith for Louis XIV, Brisville twisted organic forms into locks and doorknobs—fixtures for human security. But here, acanthus leaves entwine a male figure, bending to no such worldly purpose. He looks aghast as his own limbs begin to transform in an Ovidian metamorphosis. Equally terrifying and elegant, his leaf-legs reflect a Renaissance fascination with deformity.
This object was
donated by
Advisory Council.
It is credited Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council.
- Print, Acanthus Leaf Design
- etching on laid paper.
- Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council.
- 1921-6-213-12
- Drawing, Design for Acanthus Rinceaux with Animals and Birds
- pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, white gouache; scale in graphite....
- Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council.
- 1911-28-418
- Print, Acanthus frieze
- engraving.
- Museum purchase through gift of Mrs. John Innes Kane.
- 1944-24-36-1
Our curators have highlighted 5 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:
- Drawing, Design for a Doorknocker
- pen and ink, brush and wash on paper.
- Museum purchase through gift of various donors.
- 1901-39-933
- Print, Leaf from an ornament suite of arabesques
- black ink on paper.
- 1944-36-16-2
- Print, Ornament Panel Inscribed "Victoria Augusta"
- engraving on off white laid paper.
- Museum purchase through gift of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt.
- 1946-29-4
Its dimensions are
H x W: 33.3 × 20.4 cm (13 1/8 × 8 1/16 in.) Platemark: 16.6 × 11.6 cm (6 9/16 × 4 9/16 in.)
It is signed
Engraved upper right: Brisville Inv. Engraved, lower left: Berain F
Cite this object as
Print, Plate 3, from Diverses pièces de serruriers (Various Designs for Locksmiths); Designed by Hugues Brisville (French, active ca. 1663); Engraved by Jean Bérain the Elder (French, 1640–1711); Published by Nicolas Langlois, Pierre Mariette II (French, 1634 - 1716); France; engraving on laid paper; H x W: 33.3 × 20.4 cm (13 1/8 × 8 1/16 in.) Platemark: 16.6 × 11.6 cm (6 9/16 × 4 9/16 in.); Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council; 1921-6-486-4
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Fragile Beasts.
