Concert of Chats - Bruegel / Couché 1786

📜 Description
Original etching from the “Galerie du Palais Royal”, published in Paris in 1786 by J. Couché and J. Bouillard after a design by B. L. Prévost based on a painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, titled “Concert des chats”. The scene depicts a numerous group of anthropomorphized cats arranged as a musical ensemble: some play instruments, including a violin and wind instruments, while others appear to sing around a music stand with an open score, forming an ironic and theatrical representation. The composition is set within an interior space defined by domestic and musical objects, with a central arrangement that organizes the figures like a true orchestra. The inscription “CONCERT DES CHATS” and the reference to the Palais Royal collection (“De la Galerie de S.A.S. Monseigneur le Duc d’Orléans”) guide the interpretation as an engraved translation of a Flemish pictorial subject, emphasizing the satirical and moral character of the scene.

📚 Historical-artistic note
The print belongs to the renowned “Galerie du Palais Royal”, an editorial project in Paris aimed at disseminating through engravings the paintings from the collection of the Duke of Orléans. The subject derives from a work attributed to Pieter Bruegel the Elder, known for his allegorical compositions and genre scenes featuring animals and caricatural figures. B. L. Prévost translated the original painting into a drawn model, while J. Couché, together with J. Bouillard, handled the engraving and publication, following a collaborative publishing practice typical of late 18th-century France, with both educational and collecting purposes.

🧾 Technical sheet
Type: original engraving
Author / Maker: Pieter Bruegel the Elder (invention)
Designer / Engraver: B. L. Prévost
Publisher / Printer: J. Couché / J. Bouillard, Paris
Place: Paris
Period: 1786
Material: paper
Technique: etching
Subject / Title: “Concert des chats”
Edition: from “Galerie du Palais Royal”
Dimensions: sheet 31.5 × 47 cm; plate 23.5 × 37 cm
Marks / Signatures / Inscriptions: engraved inscriptions below the image “CONCERT DES CHATS”, “De la Galerie de S.A.S. Monseigneur le Duc d’Orléans”, “Dessiné par B. L. Prévost”, “Gravé par J. Couché”

🔍 Condition Report
Very good overall condition, with well-preserved paper and a clear impression; minor age-related marks at the margins, not affecting readability.