The Rabbit Pellets Seller - Anne Claude de Thubières, comte de Caylus

A detailed eighteenth-century etching depicting a Parisian street vendor, based on the observations of Edmé Bouchardon.

This etching depicts a street vendor, known as a rabbit pellets seller, captured in a moment of professional activity. The figure stands in profile, wearing a simple cap and a heavy cloak, holding a bundle of skins or pelts. The composition is derived from the drawings of Edmé Bouchardon, a sculptor and draughtsman whose observations of Parisian street life were widely circulated through prints during the eighteenth century. The artist, the comte de Caylus, was a significant figure in the French Enlightenment, known for his antiquarian interests and his efforts to document the social fabric of his time through the medium of etching.

The print employs a precise, linear technique to define the textures of the vendor's clothing and the surrounding architectural elements. A stone wall with a recessed niche containing a vessel provides a stark, utilitarian backdrop, grounding the subject in a recognisable urban environment. The shading is achieved through controlled cross-hatching, which creates a sense of volume and depth without relying on atmospheric effects. The vendor's posture, with his mouth slightly open as if calling out to potential customers, conveys a sense of immediacy and realism characteristic of the genre.

This work belongs to a broader tradition of 'Cris de Paris' (Cries of Paris), a series of prints documenting the various tradespeople who populated the streets of the capital. These images served as both social commentary and artistic exercises in capturing the human form in motion. By focusing on the mundane details of daily commerce, the artist provides a window into the economic life of the period. The print is a fine example of the collaborative nature of eighteenth-century printmaking, where the designs of prominent artists were translated into copperplate by skilled amateurs and professionals alike, ensuring their wider dissemination among collectors and the public.