Lovers Surprised (Annette et Lubin), François Boucher | Mia

couple in LR and figure looking on from UL — Lovers Surprised (Annette et Lubin), early 1760s
François Boucher
Brown and black chalk, with touches of brown wash on paper
A gift of many generous friends of Samuel Sachs II in honor of his service to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts 85.61
Not on View
In François Boucher’s world, gods and goddesses, shepherds and shepherdesses, voluptuous nymphs, enchanting peasants, dewy adolescents, and adorable winged infants cannot help but fall in love. This highly finished sheet from his later years demonstrates Boucher’s ability to interpret with freshness and tenderness the intimate moments shared by lovers.

The subjects have been identified as Annette and Lubin, characters from a story by Jean-François Marmontel popularized in a comic opera in 1762. Orphaned cousins, living together in an alpine hamlet, the two innocently fall in love, make love, and then are comically unaware of the resulting pregnancy until it is pointed out by the village bailiff (possibly the young voyeur in Boucher’s drawing). Omitting his signature eroticism, Boucher instead portrayed the lovers’ innocence. Childlike and small in stature, the couple are fully clothed, even shod, with little flesh revealed. The youth’s gentle embrace of the girl seems more protective than lustful, as he woos her with a fragrant flower, perhaps taken from her basket.

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Details

Title: Lovers Surprised (Annette et Lubin)
Dated: early 1760s
Artist: François Boucher
Nationality: French
Artist Life: 1703–1770
Role: Artist
Gallery: Not on View
Department: European Art
Dimension: 10 3/4 x 7 7/16 in. (27.31 x 18.89 cm) (image)13 1/4 x 10 5/8 in. (33.66 x 26.99 cm) (mount)18 1/2 × 14 1/8 × 7/8 in. (46.99 × 35.88 × 2.22 cm) (outer frame)
Credit: A gift of many generous friends of Samuel Sachs II in honor of his service to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession Number: 85.61
Medium: Brown and black chalk, with touches of brown wash on paper
Country: France
Century: 18th century
Provenance: [Galerie Cailleux (stamp in black "Cx" in an oval, not in Lugt), Paris, in 1964]. [Spencer A. Samuels, New York, 1985; sold to MIA]
Rights: Public Domain
Classification: Drawings
Object Name: Drawing
Wikipedia: Cite this information
Metadata: Click here to see the machine readable JSON data that underpins this page.
Curator Approved: This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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