Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin: Momus (1752)

(The Morgan Library and Museum, New York, USA)

A drawing made by the French artist Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin (1724-1780). This piece shows a costume from a masked ball held by duke Louis Philippe I of Orléans (1725-1785) and his wife Louise Henriette de Bourbon (1726 – 1759) at the Château de Saint-Cloud in 1752. This costume depicts Momus, in Greek mythology the personification of satire and mockery. In the 17th and 18th century the figure of Momus became a figure of harmless fun. the equivalent of Harlequin in the Italian Commedia dell'arte. The scroll the figure is holding is an annunciation for the masked ball. Drawing made in 1752.