"To protect the honor of a beauty..." c. 18th century

Curator: This engraving, "To protect the honor of a beauty...", is by Charles Nicolas Cochin l’ainé. It is held at the Harvard Art Museums and measures about 9 by 11 inches. Editor: The immediate impression is one of delicate irony; the scene seems staged, almost theatrical, in its presentation of love and vigilance. Curator: Absolutely. Cochin was a master of visual rhetoric. Notice the figures; Pierrot, Harlequin, and the embracing couple, all stock characters from the Commedia dell'Arte. Consider the context—this would have been reproduced and disseminated widely, shaping popular understandings of love and courtship. Editor: And the interplay of light and shadow—the meticulous cross-hatching—lends a sense of depth, drawing the eye to the furtive glances and staged postures. Curator: Indeed, each line contributes to the social commentary, speaking volumes about the performance of virtue and desire in 18th-century France. Editor: A fascinating glimpse into a world mediated by gesture and convention.