Mercury Teaching Cupid to Read – Bouilliard Engraving Palais Royal 1791

Description

Mercury teaching Cupid to read, in the presence of Venus, is the subject of this engraving by Jacques Bouilliard after a drawing by Antoine Borel. The sheet belongs to the Galerie du Palais-Royal series and includes the French title, an armorial cartouche, a descriptive text and an ornamental border.

The full sheet measures 46 × 29 cm. The engraved composition, including its title and explanatory text, measures 36.8 × 23.8 cm. The pictorial image alone measures 20.8 × 16.2 cm.

Mercury teaching Cupid: the mythological scene

Mercury sits at the left beneath a tree, assisting Cupid with his reading. Venus stands beside them on the right. The figures form a compact group within a wooded landscape, with foliage providing a dark background against which their forms stand out.

Mercury’s caduceus and Cupid’s wings identify the mythological setting. Drapery, leaves and accessories introduce different textures, rendered through the engraver’s fine lines and areas of cross-hatching.

The scene presents the education of Cupid through a quiet moment of instruction. The interaction between the three figures gives the composition its narrative focus.

Bouilliard, Borel and the historic Titian attribution

The printed credits identify Titian as the painter, Borel as the draughtsman and Bouillard as the engraver. Bouillard is an alternative spelling of Jacques Bouilliard’s name.

The Titian credit records the painting’s attribution when the engraving was published. The painting represented is now held by the El Paso Museum of Art and catalogued by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation under Lambert Sustris.

This distinction is part of the work’s history: the engraving preserves the earlier attribution in its original lettering.

Below the image, the French title appears with an armorial cartouche and the name of the Galerie du Palais-Royal. Further lettering places the painting within the Venetian school.

The explanatory text discusses the composition and recalls the painting’s former association with Queen Christina of Sweden’s collection. An ornamental rectangular border surrounds both the image and the text.

The plate is catalogued as an eighteenth-century engraving 1791.

Details and dimensions

• Title: Mercure enseignant à lire à l’Amour.
• English title: Mercury Teaching Cupid to Read.
• Engraver: Jacques Bouilliard, also spelt Bouillard.
• Draughtsman: Antoine Borel.
• Medium: burin engraving on paper.
• Series: Galerie du Palais-Royal.
• Full sheet: 46 × 29 cm.
• Engraved composition, including title and text: 36.8 × 23.8 cm.
• Pictorial image alone: 20.8 × 16.2 cm.

Condition

The photograph shows the plate impression, surrounding margins, ornamental border and French lettering. Minor marks and slight paper irregularities are visible. Please examine the photograph carefully for the appearance and condition of the sheet.

The measurements printed within the historical commentary refer to the painting reproduced, rather than to the offered engraving.