Study for The Rose and the Butterfly (Le Rose et le Papillon), for Houdard de la Motte's "Fables Nouvelles", 1719

In 1719 Houdard de la Motte published his “Fables Nouvelles” illustrated with 68 etchings after Gillot's original designs. This drawing is the headpiece for the seventh fable in book two titled “La Rose et le Papillon” or “The Rose and the Butterfly”. This scene features the outline of a terrace to which Gillot would later add a rose bush at left and several flying insects, including a prominently featured butterfly, lured by the appeal of the rose. At right is a sketch of a couple walking arm in arm.
The image alludes to the moral message of the fable. The rose laments the inconstancy of the butterfly, which flits from flower to flower. As the butterfly chides the rose, whose open blossom welcomes all who come to drink from it, you cannot expect constancy if you do not offer it.