In 1783, Nicolas De Launay copied Les Baignets by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, stating it was made “by his very humble and very obedient servant”, an evidence of the hierarchical tensions between painters and printmakers during the eighteenth-century. However, De Launay’s loyalty is not absolute, since a critical artistic statement is found at the edge: an illusory oval frame heavily adorned with leaves and fruits of Squash, Hazelnuts, and Oak. This paper wishes to acknowledge this meticulously engraved frame, and many more added to copies throughout De Launay’s successful career, as highly relevant in examining his ‘obedience’ and ‘humbleness’. With regard to eighteenth-century writings on botany and authenticity, and to current studies on the print market, I offer a new perspective in which engravers are appreciated as active commercial artists establishing an individual signature style. In their conceptual and physical marginality these decorations allow creative freedom which challenges concepts of art appropriation and reproduction, highly relevant then and today.

中文翻译：

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前沿：Nicolas de Launay 美术版画中的专业等级与创意身份

1783 年，尼古拉斯·德劳奈 (Nicolas De Launay) 复制了让·奥诺雷·弗拉戈纳尔 (Jean-Honoré Fragonard) 的《贝涅茨》(Les Baignet)，称它是“由他非常谦逊且非常听话的仆人制作的”，这是 18 世纪画家和版画家之间等级紧张的证据。然而，De Launay 的忠诚并不是绝对的，因为在边缘发现了一个批判性的艺术陈述：一个虚幻的椭圆形框架，上面装饰着南瓜、榛子和橡树的叶子和果实。本文希望感谢这个精心雕刻的框架，并在 De Launay 的成功职业生涯中添加了更多的副本，因为它们与检查他的“服从”和“谦逊”高度相关。关于 18 世纪关于植物学和真实性的著作，以及目前对印刷市场的研究，我提供了一个新的视角，其中雕刻师被视为活跃的商业艺术家，建立了个人签名风格。在它们的概念和物理边缘，这些装饰允许创作自由，挑战艺术挪用和复制的概念，当时和今天都非常相关。