Bowdoin College Homepage
Bowdoin College Museum of Art Logo and Wordmark

Advanced Search
Preview image of work. pen and black ink, gray wash,  Les Carreleurs (The Tilers) 30312
IIIF Logo
2016.14

Recommend keywords

Help us make our collections more accessible by providing keywords to describe this artwork. The BCMA uses the Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus to provide consistent keywords. Enter a keyword in the field below and you will be prompted with a list of possible matching AAT preferred terms.

 
 

Les Carreleurs (The Tilers)

Export record as: Plain text | JSON | CDWA-Lite | VRA Core 4

Artist

Jean-Michel Moreau le jeune (John Michel Moreau the Younger) (1741 - 1814)

Title

Les Carreleurs (The Tilers)

Creation Date

ca. 1763

Century

mid-18th century

Dimensions

4 x 8 x 1 in. (10.2 x 20.3 x 2.5 cm)

Object Type

drawing

Creation Place

Europe, France

Medium and Support

pen and black ink, gray wash

Credit Line

Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

2016.14

This is a preparatory drawing for an illustration in the “Encyclopedie, ou Dictionnaire raisonne des sciences, des arts et des metiers,” edited by Denis Diderot and, until 1759, Jean le Rond d’Alembert. In this landmark achievement of the Enlightenment, Diderot aimed to assemble, critique, and distribute the complete knowledge of the time, including crafts and trades. Distinguished artists such as the draftsman and illustrator Jean-Michel Moreau the Younger observed the activities of artisans and laborers and rendered them in drawings that make the work process legible to the reader. Moreau’s description of period detail, his rendering of the streaming light reflected on the back wall, and the view through the open door all make this drawing engaging and meaningful beyond the description of the tile-layer’s tasks. As an eyewitness account of the tilers’ work, the drawing ennobles labor and emphasizes the benefits of first-hand observation for research and learning.