1725 (printed 1736)

Return from the Hunt with a Dead Roe

French, 1686 - 1755

Printmakers in eighteenth-century France liked to embellish their work with engraved dedications to important individuals, who were flattered to be associated with a widely circulated image. Here a sizeable portion of the composition is devoted to a list of the many titles of Louis Bontemps, a minor official at the court of Louis XV. Dedicatees of prints would usually reward the printmaker with an introduction to a patron, a gift of money, or a favor of some sort, such as a gold snuffbox.