Auf allen vieren am Boden hockender Mann (mit Küken spielender Bursche) before 1730

Nicolas Lancret made this drawing of a man crouched on the ground, apparently playing with chicks, in France sometime in the first half of the 18th century. The drawing is a study, likely made in preparation for a painting. Lancret was known for his genre scenes of everyday life, often depicting the leisure activities of the French aristocracy. But it is interesting that, rather than sketching the aristocracy he usually portrayed, here Lancret studies an apparently ordinary person, capturing a moment of childlike play. This is perhaps connected to a wider tendency at the time to find something noble and valuable about the ordinary person. It challenges the rigid social hierarchies that dominated French society at the time, when the lives of ordinary people were rarely considered worthy of artistic representation. To fully understand this drawing, we can consult historical documents, such as letters, diaries, and social commentaries. This can help us to gain a deeper appreciation for the drawing’s original social meaning.