Spring c. 18th century

This hand-colored engraving called ‘Spring’ was printed in London for John Bowles sometime in the mid-18th century. It presents a fashionable woman holding a wreath, set against an idealized landscape with classical architecture. The print embodies the Rococo aesthetic then in vogue, seen in its delicate pastel colors and focus on leisure. The setting suggests a pleasure garden, a popular social space for the elite in 18th-century England. This relates to the rise of consumer culture and new forms of polite sociability. Bowles operated his print shop in the heart of London's commercial district. Prints like this catered to a growing middle class eager to emulate aristocratic taste. We can read it as a commodity, made and consumed within a specific economic and social context. Studying trade records, newspaper advertisements, and other printed ephemera helps us better understand the cultural work this image performed in its time. Art always reflects and shapes the society that produces it.