Jaquet Droz Automaton “The Draughtsman”

Inventory Number: O1909001LO

Exhibition Time: 2019.09.06-2020.01.16

Made by Jaquet Droz in 1998. 46cm tall, A gentleman with silver hair and burgundy clothes in Louis XV’s style. This automaton is composed of over 1000 mechanical parts.

When the switch is activated, the draughtsman presses his left hand on the table and waves the feather brush with his right hand to draw a "horse" on the paper. His eyes are focused, and moves with the picture and blinks several times. When the painting is finished, he will slightly raise his left hand to give the sign of completion. The whole process is vivid and creative, very smooth and delicate.

Historical Background

As the encyclopedia was being drafted, as sciences were gaining their authority and the foundations of the industrial revolution were being laid, Pierre Jaquet Droz strove to make his trade a genuine challenge: that of copying life itself. His automata – “The Writer”, “The Musician” and “The draughtsman”, now exhibited at the Neuchâtel Museum of Art and History – were to amaze many royal audiences at the time. Reviving this Art of Astonishment, Jaquet Droz now reveals its newest treasures.

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