Reigning glory: 18th century Franch engraving.

• Position: Museums Today - "Prints and Illustrated Books in 18th-Century France" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art - Critical Essay

One of the most innovative epochs in the history of printmaking--from the extravagances of the royal court to the beginning of the French Revolution--is celebrated in the exhibition "To Instruct and Delight: Prints and Illustrated Books in 18th-Century France." More than 100 prints and a dozen illustrated books reflect the dramatic changes that occurred during the reigns of King Louis XV and Louis XVI (1723-92), beginning with a sumptuous representation of the stately masked bali at Versailles where Louis XV met his future mistress and proceeding to an image of a doomed Louis XVI at the guillotine.

Original etchings, anatomical illustrations, poetry vignettes, fashion plates, and architectural views attest to the crucial role played by the dissemination of French thought during a period of increasing literacy when Paris held sway as the cultural capital of Europe.

"The prints ... afford the modern viewer a wonderful understanding of life in 18th-century France and the important role played by artists and printmakers in defining and promoting French culture," says Rena Hoisington, curator of the Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Philadelphia (Pa.) Museum of Art. "This is also an occasion to celebrate the stupendous technical accomplishments in color printmaking made by such expert engravers as Charles-Melchior Descourtis, Louis-Matin Bonnet, and their contemporaries."

The prints capture the ebullient wit and spirit of France during the Age of Enlightenment, beginning with the elegant courtiers of Jean-Antoine Watteau, who won a lasting reputation as the undisputed master of the fete galante (scenes of elegant men and women engaged in music-making, dancing, and intimate conversation in idyllic outdoor settings). A set of 650 engravings reproduced his entire output of paintings and drawings.

Among the scores of printmakers working on this vast project was Francois Boucher, the future "First Painter" to King Louis XV and the favorite artist of Madame de Pompadour, the King's mistress. Boucher and his younger colleague Jean-Honore Fragonard produced a handful of charming original etchings, but like other successful artists, they generally relied upon highly skilled professional engravers to replicate their works in black and white or full color.

The prints demonstrate the centrality of drawing to academic practice. Sculptors, painters, and printmakers alike were expected to develop their skills...