This print shows two butterflies wheeling a third insect in a bath chair, a small upright carriage. The scene is framed at the center of the page with a simple line border. The fine black lines of the print are a stark contrast to the creamy paper. The butterflies stand on two legs and have two arms, as if they were human. At right, a butterfly pulls the two long poles of the bath chair. Its long, narrow body is hunched with the effort. Its large, scalloped wings are folded up; it has two long, curving antennae. A furry insect sits in the enclosed bath chair, its head and arms visible through the open window. The bath chair has a domed roof with a scalloped eave, and large, spoked wheels. Following the chair is the second butterfly, giving it a light push with one arm. Its folded wings are spotted and striped. The scene takes place on a fanciful pedestal evoking ancient ruins or a cave grotto, swagged with vines and large flowers. Below, at center, reads 'LA BROUETTE'.

There is one other image of this object. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

This and 22 other objects are a part of a set whose first object is Album, Essai de papilloneries humaines (Ideas for Scenes with Butterflies Masquerading as Humans).

Object Timeline

1920	We acquired this object.
2016	We photographed this object.
2018	We photographed this object.
2019	We exhibited this object.
2022	You found it!

Bound Print, Plate 2 (Suite 1), La Brouette (The Bath Chair), Essai de papilloneries humaines (Ideas for Scenes with Butterflies Masquerading as Humans)

This is a bound print. It was designed by Charles-Germain de Saint-Aubin and published by Étienne Fessard and etched by Étienne Fessard. It is dated ca. 1748–56 and we acquired it in 1920. Its medium is etching on laid paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Anthropomorphized butterflies direct a bath chair with a single insect occupant. The term "bath chair" derives from its initial function—transporting invalids to the natural mineral and thermal spring bathhouses. Adopted by the upper classes, Aubin might be mocking its use by those who considered themselves too delicate to walk.

This object was donated by Advisory Council. It is credited Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council.

A white facade for a built structure manufactured into a thick lozenge-shaped grid and transparent negative space with glass for viewing a sanctuary for Monarch butterflies and a wall consisting of 3 dimensional printing of triangles within triangles, circles and other forms and flora.

Monarch Sanctuary
partial building façade model, diagram, video.
Courtesy of Terreform ONE.
NATURE.020

Visionary Concept Tire, 2016-2019
tire, touch sample.
Courtesy of Michelin.
NATURE.037

Its dimensions are

Platemark: 18.2 × 26.7 cm (7 3/16 × 10 1/2 in.) Sheet: 24.5 × 40.2 cm (9 5/8 × 15 13/16 in.)

It is inscribed

Inscribed in graphite, lower left, vertically: 3; lower left corner: C-6325

Cite this object as

Bound Print, Plate 2 (Suite 1), La Brouette (The Bath Chair), Essai de papilloneries humaines (Ideas for Scenes with Butterflies Masquerading as Humans); Designed by Charles-Germain de Saint-Aubin (French, 1721–1786); etching on laid paper; Platemark: 18.2 × 26.7 cm (7 3/16 × 10 1/2 in.) Sheet: 24.5 × 40.2 cm (9 5/8 × 15 13/16 in.); Purchased for the Museum by the Advisory Council; 1921-6-402-3

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Embroidered and Embellished.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2BCYk/
Accession Number 1921-6-402-3
Object ID 18269787