Qu'en dit l'Abbé?

About this work

This scene shows a fancy room with a group of people dressed in old-fashioned clothes. A woman in a white dress sits at a table, looking surprised while a man in a wig leans over her. Others stand around, some holding papers or looking at her. The walls have fancy carvings and a big arched window in the back. The title at the bottom—*"Qu'en dit l'Abbé?"*—means something like *"What does the abbot say?"* It’s a playful jab at a real person from that time, but the artist used humor to show how people reacted to something unexpected. Want to know more? Check out etching, drypoint, aquatint to see how this image was made.