Catalogue of the Retrospective Loan Exhibition of European TapestriesSan Francisco Museum of Art
History
Catalogue of the Retrospective Loan Exhibition of European Tapestries
San Francisco Museum of Art
Tapestry -- Exhibitions
The angels are after Boucher, the only coat of arms in tapestry known to
which Boucher has contributed. It is evidently one of several fleur-de-lis
pieces listed in the accounts of Beauvais between 1735 and 1740 and may be
the one made for the Parliament of Rouen in the latter year.[34]
It is an unusually rich and interesting armorial, the angels with their
characteristic Boucher grace adding great beauty to the formal setting.
[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]
François Boucher (1703-1770) studied with Lemoyne and during that
time painted scenery for the Opera, a work to which he returned in
the height of his career (1737-44). In 1734 he became Academician.
In 1735 he was appointed head of the Gobelins by Marigny. In 1765
he was made first painter to the king and Director of the Academy.
In the years between 1740 and 1755 he painted many cartoons for the
Beauvais tapestry works. Among his most famous tapestry suites are
the _Loves of the Gods_, the _Chinese Hangings_, and the _Italian
Fêtes_.
[Sidenote: 68]
GOBELINS, XVIII CENTURY (1767)
[Sidenote:
_Wool and Silk._
H. 4 _ft._ 11 _in._
W. 6 _ft._ 6 _in._
]
THE FORTUNE-TELLER: _Two peasant girls seated on the ground by a fountain
are having their fortune told by another girl. A naked baby clings to
her skirts. From one side a goat looks on inquisitively. It is signed F.
Boucher and dated._
[Sidenote: Illustrated: _Fénaille, L'Etat général des Tapisseries de la
Manufacture des Gobelins, Dix-huitième Siècle_, 2me Partie, p. 238.]
This is one of a series of cartoons in small size made by Boucher for the
Gobelins while he was director. They were very popular and have been woven
a number of times.
The piece shows how remarkably the delicate gradations of tone, on which
Boucher's essential quality depended, could be translated into the weave
by the extraordinarily skillful craftsmen of the Gobelins.
[Sidenote: Lent by _Duveen Brothers_. ]
As in all of Boucher's cartoons, the subject is only an occasion for his
own charming decorative mannerisms. As a rendition of peasant life, it
is interesting to contrast this cartoon with the honest literalness of
Teniers (cf. Nos. 47-49).
[Sidenote: 69]
AUBUSSON, LATE XVIII CENTURY
[Sidenote:
_Wool and Silk._
H. 9 _ft._ 10 _in._
W. 7 _ft._ 5 _in._
]
BAIGNEUSE: _A bather attended by amorini is about to step into a woodland
stream. In an oval frame surrounded by an encadrement of garlands upheld
by amorini and satin drapes in the manner of Huet, on a gray ground._
The central panel is after Fragonard, a subject that he repeated with many
variations. The piece is typical of the Aubusson work, delicate in color
with the decorative effect depending largely on the flowery encadrement.
[Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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