Vignet met putti in cartouche before 1750

Curator: The fine lines are incredibly intricate! It’s so meticulously rendered. Editor: It does seem whimsical, almost fragile. What are we looking at here? Curator: This is a "Vignet met putti in cartouche," or "Vignette with putti in cartouche" before 1750, etched or engraved, perhaps both, by Pierre-Edme Babel, it now resides in the Rijksmuseum collection. The Baroque styling is notable here, but this work seems smaller, maybe used as a sort of book decoration. Editor: Yes, and putti are a subject. Those plump little figures appear busy in what looks like a construction scene, framed by elaborate, decorative borders. There's something charmingly paradoxical about cherubic figures engaging in mundane labor. Curator: The cartouche itself functions as a frame but it is a deeply artificial framing. The implied "snapshot" and sense of immediacy is subverted by an overt presentation. Notice, too, the use of line weight and the deployment of shadow create the illusion of depth and volume within the scene and yet do little to grant it a realistic form. Editor: It raises the question, then, of how such imagery served audiences back then. I imagine these sorts of designs were relatively ubiquitous. Did it act simply as ornate flourishes or as moral stories to promote, say, labor? Curator: Certainly it performed both functions. The vignette's location on the page and its placement would imbue it with a measure of social weight depending on the specific context of the work. One can surmise how publishers were building a more immersive viewing experience and how individual patrons could signal wealth or values. Editor: Fascinating. I still find myself drawn to the miniature, ephemeral quality. The amount of detail the artist renders with pen and ink, that level of focus. It’s stunning. Curator: Indeed. Babel offers us a masterclass in form.