At Least Be Discreet

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Artist: Augustin de Saint-Aubin (French, 1736–1807)
Medium: Etching and engraving
Size: Sheet: 38.5 x 27.9 cm (15 3/16 x 11 in.); Platemark: 36.6 x 26.6 cm (14 7/16 x 10 1/2 in.)
Culture: France
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

Together these pendant prints depict a couple saying farewell after a romantic rendezvous. Still partially undressed, the woman cautions her lover to keep their tryst a secret. Both the man and the cherub beneath him proudly display a plucked rose as a symbol of sexual triumph. Meanwhile, below the woman, a blindfolded cupid steps toward a precipice, a sign that this lady is about to fall dangerously in love with a rogue. Amusingly, the prints actually depict the artist and his wife, whimsically portraying the mores and fashion of aristocratic society.