Pendant Watch

This watchcase signed by Pierre Huaud II, the son of Pierre Huaud, exemplifies the high degree of skill required to produce minuscule detailed scenes. On the back is a reverse image of The Toilet of Venus by the French painter Simon Vouet. Pierre Huaud II never saw the original painting (now at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh) but rather based his composition on the engraving made in 1651 by Michel Dorigny. He enriched the black-and-­white print with vivid colors—his family’s trade­mark. This watchcase was made for a movement by Geneva-based clockmaker Henry Arlaud, whose signature is engraved on the back plate.

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.