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Jean Michel Moreau

The Fireworks

January 21, 1782
Etching and engraving in black on cream wove paper, laid down on cream wove paper
46 × 73.5 cm (18.1 × 28.9 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Theatrical spectacles often marked the momentous occasions of royal weddings and births. These ephemeral events incorporated dance, music, poetry, and even pyrotechnics, aristocratic antics captured in the ephemeral medium of print. Jean-Michel Moreau the Younger created an expansive etching of the fireworks celebrating the birth of the dauphin Louis-Joseph, son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. This iconic image emphasizes the power of the festival machine, a veritable temple of fireworks, by miniaturizing the onlookers within the massing crowd. The etching’s size contributes to its rarity; this impression was preserved in an album, as were most surviving examples.

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