Jean-Baptiste Huet

Jean-Baptiste Marie Huet is chiefly known as a genre and animal painter, in which disciplines he achieved considerable success. Born in Paris into the family of an artist craftsman, he was drawn almost as a matter of course into the artistic milieu of his time, his development being shaped by such major talents as François Boucher and Jean-Baptiste Le Prince. In 1769 Huet was admitted to full membership of the Paris Academy. The extent of Huet’s activity was considerable. His paintings and drawings – which he largely distributed himself through reproductive engravings – and his designs for ornaments made an important contribution to the artistic taste of his time.

This atmospherically dense, powerfully treated etching is distinguished by its striking chiaroscuro. The pastoral scene with the towering palm tree in the background is reminiscent of Italian predecessors such as Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione; at the same time, echoes of the Christian pictorial motif of the flight into Egypt are unmistakable, although here the work is of a distinctly genre-like character. A strong, contrasting impression with margins or thread margins, respectively, around the platemark at the top and the bottom, otherwise with even thread margins around the image. Small repaired tear, minor aging, otherwise in excellent condition.