Artwork
On ne s'avise jamais de tout
On ne s'avise jamais de tout is an ink print by the Baroque artist Charles Emmanuel Patas. It dates from 1773 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. “On ne s’avise jamais de tout” is an etching produced in 1773 by the French artist Charles‑Emmanuel Patas.
About this work
Overview
“On ne s’avise jamais de tout” is an etching produced in 1773 by the French artist Charles‑Emmanuel Patas. Executed as a single‑plate print, the work measures roughly the size typical of eighteenth‑century intaglio pieces and is catalogued as a print rather than a painting or drawing.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts an interior scene crowded with figures dressed in period costume. One individual appears to support another, while a haze of smoke drifts in the background, suggesting a bustling, perhaps disorderly, domestic or social gathering. The title, translating to “One never dares everything,” hints at a moral or cautionary undertone to the depicted chaos.
Technique & Style
Patas employed traditional etching methods, incising lines into a copper plate before printing on paper. The resulting image is marked by fine, textured lines that convey both the intricate details of clothing and the atmospheric smoke, characteristic of the precise, linear quality favored by late‑Baroque printmakers.
History & Provenance
Created in the late eighteenth century, the print reflects the period’s interest in genre scenes that capture everyday life. While specific ownership records are scarce, the work is listed in several catalogues of Patas’s oeuvre and has appeared in collections focusing on French printmaking of the 1700s.
Artist & collection
