Charms of the Morning 1777

Louis Marin Bonnet made "Charms of the Morning" using pastel and chalk manner, printed on laid paper. This isn't a painting or a drawing in the conventional sense, but a print that mimics those media. Bonnet was a specialist in this kind of reproductive printmaking, a kind of proto-photography, which allowed images to circulate widely. The softness of the pastel medium is translated through a laborious process of etching and aquatint, building up layers of tone to create this delicate portrait. It's important to remember that while the image presents a vision of aristocratic leisure, its production was anything but leisurely. This was painstaking work, requiring not only artistic skill but also technical mastery of printmaking. The resulting print could then be sold and distributed far more widely than a unique pastel drawing. This connects the artwork directly to the burgeoning market economy of the 18th century, a time when art began to function more like a commodity. So, when we look at "Charms of the Morning", we're not just seeing a pretty face, but also the mechanics of image production and dissemination in the age of early capitalism.