Graphic artwork from the series "Mascarade à la Grecque" [Masquerade in the Greek style]

The French architect Ennemond Alexandre Petitot (1727–1801) mostly worked for the Dukes of Parma after his studies in Paris. He became known for his neoclassicist architectures, such as the rooms and the stairwell for the ducal palace in Colorno in the region Emilia-Romagna. The series Mascarade à la Grecque was created in 1771, probably as a satire on and mockery of the fashion hype “à la Grecque.” Petitot was inspired by original drawings from the collection of the minister of the Duke of Parma, Guillaume du Tillot. The person depicted here is Ennemond Alexandre Petitot himself. Placed into a fantastic still life with a pyramid and a Corinthian column, holding a pair of compasses and a measuring rod, Petitot depicts himself in an ironic and exaggerated way. Even his glasses are adapted to the fashion of the time and would in fact still create a furor as designer glasses nowadays. The graphic artwork is one of about 17 400 ornamental engravings from the MAK Library and Works on Paper Collection.