Artwork
La Petite Thérèse
La Petite Thérèse is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Jacques Couché. It dates from 1776 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Jacques Couché’s 1776 engraving titled La Petite Thérèse depicts a lively outdoor scene in which a man and a woman interact amid a garden setting. The composition captures a moment of movement, with the figures surrounded by foliage and blossoms, rendered in the delicate line work characteristic of eighteenth‑century printmaking.
Subject & Meaning
The image presents a young woman in a flowing dress extending her arm, while a gentleman, wearing a tilted hat, grasps the hem of her garment. Their poised gestures suggest a playful or courtly encounter, perhaps a dance or a fleeting flirtation, set against the natural backdrop of flowers and shrubs.
Technique & Style
Executed as an engraving, the work relies on fine incised lines to convey texture and tonal variation, creating a sense of depth within the garden. The treatment of light and shadow, together with the soft, graceful contours of the figures, aligns the piece with the emerging Romantic sensibility that favored emotion and natural beauty.
History & Provenance
Created in 1776, La Petite Thérèse is among the later prints produced by Couché, a French engraver known for his skill in translating painted subjects into the print medium. The work has been documented in several 19th‑century catalogues of French prints, though its early ownership record remains limited.
Context
The engraving emerges at a time when French art was shifting toward more intimate, sentiment‑laden subjects, moving away from the grand historical narratives of the earlier Rococo period. Garden scenes featuring elegantly dressed figures were popular motifs, reflecting contemporary tastes for pastoral romance and the idealization of leisure.
Artist & collection
